A Little Hatted Borrower
by MonsterMonsoon
Summary: Hat Kid is a Borrower, a tiny humanoid creature who lives inside houses. After getting separated from her family, she's forced to stay in a huge house that's been converted into apartments. But the tenants prove to be...quite strange. Can the little Borrower survive? (BORROWER AU)
1. A Shelter From the Rain

The rain pounded against the ground with unrelenting force. Hat Kid huffed as she ran between the blades of weeds that towered above her. She needed to find shelter. She remembered Tim and Thor telling her of Borrowers who had drowned in heavy rainfall.

Peeking out from underneath a dandelion, she could see a house in the distance. Thunder boomed behind her, causing the small girl to squeal and run ahead. The backpack jingled and clinked with every terrified step.

Before she could reach the house, she slipped and fell in a puddle of mud. Groaning, she wiped the mud off her eyes and hands, trudging forward. She approached the front, seeing a large sign. Staring at it, she said aloud; "This sign can't stop me, because I can't read."

Searching the edge of the house, she tried to find a way in. These old houses always had some way in...aha! A grate! Hat Kid easily climbed in, taking shelter from the rain. Sitting on a brick nearby, she wrung out her hat and searched through her bag. She still had her sewing supplies thankfully, but her rations were ruined!

She'd have to 'borrow' from this house then.

Hat Kid placed her lucky hat back on her head and moved forward. She was in her element in the crawl space, jumping off nails and boards. She could already picture herself living here, inviting Bow over for tea, or maybe Timmy! But...it had been a while since they were separated…

Before she could think too hard, she could feel the walls shaking. Gasping, she looked through a crack in the wall. She could see a Human Bean's feet, stomping and pacing in an furious gesture. "Ah can't believe it's raining! We can't film in this!" the Bean's voice was loud and irate, with an accent Hat Kid had never heard before.

She had to get closer.

Finding a larger hole in the wall, she hesitantly poked her head through. Luckily for her, this hole was underneath a large piece of furniture. Unless a Human Bean was intentionally looking underneath it, they'd never see her.

"Face it old man, you can't control the weather any more than you can control time, space, or your rampant alcoholism." another voice chimed in.

Hat Kid looked up at the angry Bean. She could see he was wearing a very dark suit of some kind with gold buttons and a purple tie. His hands looked worn with age, covered in wrinkles and some blonde-gold hair. But she couldn't see his face. "What did ye say to me?! Ye no good lazy bum! Tell that to me face!" without the wall to muffle his voice, the Bean's voice was absolutely loud and terrifying.

Looking over, Hat Kid could see another Bean, but more obscured. She could only see his feet, which were in a pair of dark purple shoes. "I have a job you moron, you just don't listen-"

"Oh, is yer job digging through the trash? Ha!"

Shrinking back to the hole, she gulped. This house certainly was...lively. Maybe living here wasn't such a good idea. But it would be good shelter from the rain at least.

Returning to the safety of the space between walls, she continued to crawl and jump around. But she missed a nail, loudly gasping and grasping the next one. That was close!

"Wait - did ye hear something?" the angry Bean said, his tone suspicious.

"Hear what?"

Hat Kid froze, holding onto the nail she was dangling from. She could hear loud footsteps come closer to the wall. "I'm not sure, but I heard something."

"Was it your heart? You finally kicking the bucket old man?"

The stomps turned around, getting farther away. "Ye know what? I'm about to come over there and KICK YER ASS-"

Sighing in relief, she climbed back up and continued on her way. She tried to remember what Thor had told her, where was it that Human Beans almost never went? "The Attic!" she whispered to herself.

Human Beans often used the attic as a place to store old objects, and almost never went in there. It was perfect for her to hide out in. But first things first, she needed food in her belly. Her rations were ruined by the rain, and she was getting hungry.

Human Beans always stored food in the kitchen, so that was what she had to look for. Sniffing around, she followed her nose to..something that smelled good. Following her nose, she found light pouring out out of a crack.

The crack showed a warmly lit kitchen. There was a large lady at the stove, turned away from the crack. There were lots of pots and pans on the stove, bubbling and cooking. This Human Bean had darker skin, which white patches. Her hair was a bright red, and she was wearing a olive green shirt. She hummed as she stirred the soups and other foods.

Hat Kid gulped. She had to be careful. Any loud noise, game over. Scanning the kitchen, she saw a sugar dish full of sugar cubes, and a large piece of sourdough bread. Fixing her hat, she slowly ventured in. Taking careful steps, she took precaution not to make any sounds.

She froze in place as the Human Bean muttered, "Cookie you've done it again!" she chuckled, tasting something from the pot. Seeing as how she was not being captured right now, Hat Kid continued. Reaching the bread, she took off her pack. Breaking a tiny chunk off, she stuffed it in her pack. Once she had some bread, she moved to the sugar container.

Moving the lid slowly, she set it on the ground and grabbed a sugar cube. She let out a quiet gasp as she heard the Cookie Bean start to move. Hat Kid dashed to the crack in the wall, still holding the sugar in her hands.

"This soup could use some...oh?" Cookie paused, looking at the still open sugar container. She smiled wide, recalling the stories her mother would tell her. Stories of Little People, who lived under the floorboards. "Oh.." she whispered to herself. "We have a guest!"

Hat Kid heaved a sigh of relief in the safety of the wall space. She took a big bite of the sugar cube. She loved sugar, probably a bit too much. She continued heading upwards towards the attic. The air grew colder, and the light faded into shadows. Yep, she was in the attic.

The attic was cold and dark, the only light coming from a singular window. Hat Kid watched the rain for a moment from the window, before continuing to search for dangers. There were lots of boxes and other odd shapes, all with a layer of dust.

Feeling confident, she stepped into the attic with her sugar cube. The dust tickled her nose, and she sneezed.

"Bless you." came a voice from the darkness.

She froze. Slowly turning around to see the same purple shoes the Angry Bean was talking too. Looking upwards, the Purple Bean wore a tattered suit and pants, also a deep purplish blue, but not the same hue as his shoes. He had pale skin and black hair, and bright golden eyes. He grinned at her. "You. Are. Tiny."

Hat Kid whimpered in fear, tears spilling from her eyes. The Purple Bean stopped smiling. "Hey hey, kid. I'm not going to hurt you. Geez what do you take me for?"

She couldn't stop crying. This was like something from a nightmare. A Human Bean finds her and...poof. She's gone. The Purple Bean sat down, in some attempt to be closer to her level. "Hey c'mon, kid. Stop that crying. I'm not going to hurt you."

"A-All..humans say that..." she sobbed, stepping back. The sugar cube fell from her hands.

"Well not me. Trust me." he leaned forward, and she winced, closing her eyes. When she didn't feel the life being squeezed out of her, she opened one eye. He was holding her sugar cube between his index finger and thumb. "You dropped this, kiddo."

She stared at it, then back at him. He smiled at her. Hesitating, she took the cube back. "I-I was always told...to stay away from Human Beans."

He snorted, trying to hide his laughter. "Did you just call me a Bean?!"

"Yeah! Humans are big as beanstalks! Human Beans!" she explained, feeling defensive. This is the first ever human she's talked to, and he laughs at her.

"That's adorable! You're super tiny and you call humans beans?!" he had to stop himself from howling with laughter. "OK, OK let's move on before you kill me, Kid. You can call me Snatcher. And you?"

She fixed her hat. "Hat Kid, at your service!"

"So, Kid, have you always lived here and I'm just oblivious, or..."

Her smile faded. "Um, no. My family and I were relocating and...I got separated. I'm on my own now." she sniffled, thinking about the terrible rainstorm that separated them.

 _"Grab my hand!" Timmy held his hand out to her. But the water had made the tiny stream into a river by now. Their boat had started floating without her. She was being left behind._

 _"C'mon! Reach! Reach!" Bow held onto Timmy to make sure he didn't fall. Tim and Thor were trying to stop the teapot from moving with sticks. Just as Hat Kid grabbed Timmy's hand, the sticks snapped and the teapot jolted. Screaming, she fell in the river and was washed away. Her family cried her name as her head went under…_

She heard snapping. "Kid, kid you're crying again." Looking up at Snatcher, she sniffled.

"I'm sorry, I just..miss them." she wiped her eyes with her sleeves in an attempt to stop the tears.

He held out his hand for her to step on. She climbed up, and he moved his hand closer to him. "I know how you feel, kid. One day you have everything you want. But then something happens...and you don't." shaking the bad memories out of his head, he turned to the tiny girl in his palm. "So, feel free to stay as long as you want."

Hat Kid gasped, smiling. "You mean it?!"

"Well sure! I mean my uncle owns this apartment, and so it's kind of like I run-"

"Wait, apartments?" she didn't know what apartments were. She thought this was just a big house with strange people living in it.

"Yeah, apartments. We take this big, big house and divide it up so different people live here." he explained, setting her on a desk and sitting in a chair nearby. "I live in the attic. But there are..." he paused, counting his fingers. "At least three other guests in the house. Possibly four. I lose count."

"Like the angry bean?"

Snatcher was silent for a moment, before bursting into laughter. "A-Angry bean?! Oh my god, you mean the old man- Oh my god I am not not calling him that now!" after he settled down, he explained. "You're referring to 'The Conductor'." a flash of realization hit his features. "I-In the wall, was that you, kid?!"

She nodded. "Yeah! That was me!"

"Wow! Conductor thought it was mice."

Hat Kid slowly nodded, yawning. Snatcher hummed in thought, standing up and moving to the boxes of abandoned items. "Let's see if we still have it...aha!" From the shadows, the human dragged out a massive dollhouse. "How's this look, kid?"

She tilted her head. "A tiny house?"

"I was supposed to give it to my kid. Well," he shot a her a grin. "that didn't exactly work out. And I think you could use it more than my nonexistent kid." Walking back over, he carried her to the dollhouse. He opened up the walls, and she gasped.

"Everything is me sized!" she exclaimed, hopping inside to explore. The furniture was exactly her size and somewhat functional; sure drawers didn't work but she could sit in chairs and the couch, and the doors were actually doors to other rooms. The bed was made with soft blankets and had some sort of mattress. She set her pack on a chair, climbing into the bed. "It's so warm!"

"Is that going to work? No one comes up here except me, so no one should bother you." he said, with a dismissive hand raise. Snatcher had no idea why he was helping this tiny girl so much. Perhaps, she reminded him of himself when he was young.

"T-Thank you so much! I can't thank you enough!" she blubbered, trying very hard not to cry again.

"You can thank me by not crying so much." he sighed. "I'm going to bed. I'm closing this now." He closed the dollhouse back up. She waved at him from the bedroom window, before laying back down in the bed to sleep.

* * *

Hat Kid woke up to sunlight streaming through the attic window. On the floor of the dollhouse bedroom was a sugar cube, and a small note. Rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes, she shuffled forward and looked at the note _. "Hey Kiddo! I had some clients to see, things to do. I'm not here, obviously. You should be safe, I'm pretty sure no one would hurt you if you're seen...Pretty sure. -S."_

She gulped nervously, immediately thinking about the Angry Human she saw yesterday. She certainly didn't want to meet him. But, maybe he wasn't as bad. Snatcher wasn't that bad, he was rather nice! And maybe the Cookie Bean was nice too?

Stretching and crawling out of the doll bed, she nibbled on the sugar cube. She wanted to explore the house more-

Hat Kid heard banging from downstairs. Angry yelling and stomping caused the attic to shudder and shake. Quickly grabbing her pack and hat, she went to investigate. Traveling through the cracks in the walls, the shouting grew louder and more clear. Something about 'Peck Neck' and 'taking the good recording spot'. She could also hear a smoother, deeper voice try to reply. But the shouting drowned him out.

She found the crack from yesterday; the one under the furniture. The Angry Human was pacing around the room, screaming about movie sets and recording setups, terms Hat Kid had no information on. She still couldn't see his head or shoulders.

There was another Human Bean in the room, somewhat following the pacings of the Angry One. He had shoes that made him look much taller, blue pants, and a huge red coat that was very sparkly. His skin was darker than the Angry One's.

"Darling, you need to relax-"

"YE DON'T TELL ME TO RELAX, GROOVES. YE KNEW I WANTED THAT SPOT, BUT YE HAD TO TAKE IT FROM ME!"

"I had no say in what spot, and does it really matter?"

Hat Kid covered her ears as he continued to angrily rant; wow he was loud! The Angry Bean- no. That wasn't his name. "Conductor." she whispered to herself. "That's his name." She recalled Snatcher mentioning his name last night. And the Shiny Bean was named Grooves.

Snatcher, Cookie, Conductor, Grooves. Four people in the house, one borrower. Surely no one would mind if she took a couple things here and there. She saw another crack in the wall, a little big past the furniture she was hiding under. It'd be risky, but what was life without risks?

Holding onto the straps of her pack, as to minimize the rattling, she darted to the crack, squeezing inside.

Meanwhile, in the middle of one of his rants against his business rival, the Conductor paused. "Did ye see that?"

Grooves frowned. "See what?"

Conductor moved closer to the wall. "I-I saw something movin'...over here. I saw brown-" he knelt on one knee, looking at the crack in the wall. He blinked, leaning down. "...how did tiny mud specks get all tha way over here?"

"Darling it's been raining for days. It was probably tracked in." Grooves sighed.

"No, ye peck neck, something else is going on." Conductor angrily waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "I heard something in tha wall's yesterday...do ye think we have mice?"

"It's certainly possible. This _is_ an old house."

"...I'll get some rat poison."

Hat Kid peeked from the crack in the Cookie Bean's kitchen. She didn't see Cookie anywhere, and the kitchen was dark. Well, mostly.

On a counter was a small, single candle and saucer. On the saucer was an assortment of goodies; sugar cubes, grapes, small candies, cheese cubes, circular cereal pieces, and other small food items.

There was a small piece of paper nearby, and it simply read; "For our little guest, Cookie."

She frowned. Tim and Thor had both told her that these 'offerings' were traps. Once you'd take it, the Beans would know you exist. And the more Beans that know about you, the worse off you are. It only took one human to ruin a borrower's life, or worse.

But...It'd be rude not to…

Picking up a grape, she bit into it. It was really sweet, and no poison-y taste. Everything she looked for in a grape!

There was a very loud knocking sound from behind her, followed by rapid footsteps. "Coming! Hold on!" it sounded like the Cookie Bean.

Thinking quickly, Hat Kid hid behind the candle, peeking out behind it. The door was right next to the kitchen unfortunately, so she was trapped. Cookie appeared, wearing a chef's outfit and a chef's hat. Opening the door, the little borrower listened closely.

"Morning, lass. Er - I have an odd favor for ye." It was Conductor. Hat Kid gasped, hiding behind the candle, but still looking out.

"Morning! C'mon in! Wait in the kitchen, kay?" came Cookie's reply. She started to walk into the apartment, letting him in.

Using the utmost caution, the little girl looked at the normally irate human. Using Snatcher as a reference, he was shorter than she expected. Being a few inches tall really skewed the concept of height. She was finally able to see his face. He had blonde hair sticking up behind his ears, sideburns, and some hair on his chin. He was wearing a hat that unfortunately hid his eyes. He had his arms behind his back, and he was standing up very straight; he looked like a very serious man.

His head turned to the candle, and she quickly hid, praying he didn't see her. He stepped forward. "Why do ye have a candle in yer kitchen?"

Cookie Bean's footsteps came closer. "Have you heard of Borrowers, Conductor?" came the chipper reply.

He scoffed. "Borrower?"

"Little people that live in the walls and floors! They're harmless, but very shy and fearful. I just wanted to make them feel welcome! My mama would tell me stories about them."

He laughed, then said in a mocking tone, "Lassie, I think ye mean rats! Leaving sugar out like this is just gonna attract rats and other vermin. Oh! That reminds me, Ah think we're getting mice. Probably because _someone_ is leaving food out." he said this with an upset tone. "Do ye have any poison?"

"No! I don't believe in that!" the Cookie Human was obviously disgusted. Hat Kid heard footsteps moving farther away.

"Well, I thought I'd ask." he said, a little disappointed.

"Now I need to get to work, if you please…" the sound of the front door being opened.

"Of course. Have a good day, Lass." and then the door was closed.

There was silence in the apartment. Hat Kid could hear her heartbeat. "I know you exist. And don't worry. I know how scared you must be." Cookie Bean said in a gentle voice. "If you ever need food, or shelter, or warmth, I'm always here for you. Your secret is safe with me."

Taking a deep breath, Hat Kid slowly stepped out behind the candle. The two stared at each other for a moment. The Human smiled at her, and the Borrower gave a small nod before running back into the crack in the wall.


	2. Human Beans are Strange Creatures

Hat Kid spent the next few hours in the attic, setting up the dollhouse for her temporary home. Placing her sewing equipment on a table, her grape, half a sugar cube and bread chunk on a counter in the kitchen, making it more homey.

Someone was making noise outside. Climbing to a window, she saw a little bean outside, playing in the grass. "A Child Bean!" she gasped, pressing her face into the pane.

The Child Bean had a red cape on, hiding most of her features. But Hat Kid could see blonde hair sticking out of her hood. She was holding a strange object in her hand, pointing it at an anthill.

She watched the Child Bean in fascination; she had never seen a young Human Bean before. It looked like her...but, larger.

She could hear steps coming up to the attic. Snatcher opened the attic door, holding...something in his mouth as he clambered inside. Angrily sighing, he closed the door with his foot and plopped down on the desk chair. He took the object out of his mouth, placing it on the desk. "Hey kid," he said, finally noticing her. "Want to try some pizza?"

"Who's that outside?" she wasn't very interested in whatever 'pizza' is, mostly because part of it was in his mouth. He frowned, taking a bite from the pizza before walking to the window.

"Oh." he said, his tone clearly upset at seeing the child. "That's Mu. Our neighbor. She's currently living with her uncle, and if you think Conductor gets loud, ho boy. Sometimes you can hear the two argue from in here."

"Mu?"

"I...hm...I'd stay away from her, kid." he had a small, nervous smile. "She's certainly a trouble maker. She...likes to burn things. And find little animals and bugs and takes them home as pets. But they never last long."

Hat Kid gulped. Stay away from the Child Bean. Got it.

"Oh, we have some bad news. Conductor is getting suspicious, and is out buying rat poison." he said, nonchalantly as he returned to his pizza. "So, we might have to do something about that."

"Rat poison?!" she fearfully squeaked. That didn't sound good.

"Now, he doesn't let me into his apartment anymore." Snatcher's grin widened. "After I put pink paint in his shampoo, he doesn't exactly trust me. So, here's my plan. You sneak into his apartment after he buys it, and get rid of it. Dump it down the sink, spill it on the floor, something."

"Y-You want me to sneak into his apartment? What if he sees me?!" she shoved her hat further down her head, as if to hide inside it.

"That's where I come in!" he finished eating his pizza, then returned to his plan. "I'll keep Conductor out of his apartment and busy. I'm great at it!" noticing her fear, he leaned closer and gingerly pat her head with a finger. "Don't worry kid, I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

* * *

Hat Kid and Snatcher waited for the Conductor to return home several hours later with a paper bag full of pest control products. As she crawled through the walls, he knocked on the old director's door. He opened the door, sneering at the young man. "What do ye want-"

Snatcher held up a finger as he pulled out a silver flask from his vest pocket. Conductor's eyes went wide. That was his flask! Before he could interject, Snatcher opened the flask and proceeded to chug the alcohol right in front of him. He hiccuped, then grinned. "I just drank all your booze."

She had to cover her ears as Conductor went on the loudest tirade she's heard yet. She heard Snatcher howling with laughter as he ran off, the old man chasing after him. Cookie and Grooves tried to chime in, but most everything was drowned out by the furious screeching.

Assuming this is the distraction Snatcher was talking about, she snuck inside. This was the first time she's seen the Angry Bean's apartment. She's seen Cookie's kitchen, and saw Snatcher's attic, but she wasn't sure what to expect from Conductor.

His apartment wasn't that big, and it seemed...unfinished. There were boxes and luggage sprawled about, with large, cardboard items mimicking real objects. Like cardboard cacti. On a shelf nearby were three bright, shiny, golden trophies. But he did have normal furniture, like a simple couch and TV in the living room.

But she wasn't here to marvel at how Bean's lived. Hat Kid found the paper bag in the kitchen, on a counter.

Climbing up, Hat Kid found a bottle with a dead rat on it outside the bag, next to the sink. That must be it! Scaling the large bottle, she grunted as she screwed open the cap. The liquid inside stank like death, causing her to cover her mouth and nose with her sleeve. Climbing back down, she started to push the bottle towards the sink, causing the bottle to fall inside and spill all of its contents down the drain.

"I don't have time for this! Ye'll regret this!" Oh no, he was coming back! Gasping, her eyes darted around for some sort of escape. She heard the door open. Her gaze finally landed on a red, cone-shaped object with a handle on the side. It'll have to do.

Ducking behind it, Conductor entered the kitchen. Grumbling angrily to himself about Snatcher, he slammed the empty flask on the counter. Noticing the bottle in the sink, he gasped and rushed towards it. "Whadda what?! Who did this?!" pulling the bottle out, he found it empty. "It wasn't the lad, or the lass, and Grooves wouldn't do this…"

She gulped. He had to leave the kitchen so she could leave. He continued to mutter darkly to himself about who could have done this. "Oh well, Ah got other means…" he started pulling out mouse traps and flypaper from the bag.

Whistling, he grabbed a few of the traps and moved to the living room. Seeing an opportunity, she sprinted as quietly as she could to a crack in the wall, squeezing inside and out of sight.

"So you got rid of the - _*hic!*_ Sorry - you got rid of the poison, but he had traps?" Snatcher was sitting on his bed in the attic, Hat Kid sitting on his pillow. Human pillows were amazing! So big and soft.

But no matter how soft, she was still worried about the Conductor. "Yeah...he had traps. And uh, are you OK?"

He hummed in thought. "Kiddo I'm assuming you know how to avoid traps. I'm having a difficult time thinking too hard. I just chugged half a flask of scotch on an empty stomach and my head is killing me. I was going to...sleep. For...a while. _*Hic!*"_

* * *

She left Snatcher alone to sleep off the booze he chugged, opting to visit Cookie. Hat Kid hadn't properly introduced herself, and the Bean seemed trustworthy. She should at least thank her for the grape.

Entering the kitchen, she found the candle and small plate again. She made a mental note to grab a little treat before she left.

"Um, hello? Miss Cookie?" she called out into the empty kitchen.

"Oh? Is someone in here?" she came into the kitchen wearing loose, comfortable clothing. She looked at Hat Kid, and smiled. "Oh! Hello there cutie! You were in here earlier!"

Nodding, she replied. "Yup! I'm Hat Kid! Thanks for the grape!"

Pulling up a chair, Cookie sat down. "You're very welcome! I'm Cookie, but you already knew that. Now, are you truly a Borrower?"

"Yup! Through and through!" Hat Kid sat on the counter, leaning over to grab a sugar cube. "And, I want to thank you again. I was afraid the Angry Bean - er, Conductor - would see me. I was hiding behind the candle."

Cookie snickered. "Angry Bean? Well, I'm glad I can help. I understand that Conductor can be a bit...much."

"That's putting it mildly." she muttered, nibbling on the sugar cube.

"Now, does your family live here? Under the floorboards, or in the walls, behind some furniture? That's where my mama would tell me they lived." Cookie started a kettle of water. "Tea?"

"No thanks m'am." Timmy was really into drinking tea, but she never got into it. "And, I'm staying here until I find my family. We got separated in the rainstorm. We were moving out of our old home...the human beans there bought a cat."

"Oh no! I'm so sorry sweetie! You can stay in my apartment if you want to!" Hat Kid felt a warm aura from Cookie, and she enjoyed it immensely. A sort of...motherly aura.

"Oh no, that's OK! I'm staying in the attic with Snatcher! He said I could, and even pulled out a dollhouse for me to stay in."

Her face darkened. "That Snatcher hasn't tried anything, has he? If he lays a finger on you I'll throw him out the window!"

"No no! He's been nothing but nice!"

Cookie settled down, pouring a cup of tea. "That's good. I understand that Borrowers don't usually speak to humans. But it seems that you've met me and Snatcher."

"I've always been fascinated by humans...and you two seem very nice. I'm not sure about Conductor, and I have no idea about this 'Grooves' but, let's keep it between you two for now."

The human smiled at her. She reminded Hat Kid of a cat, but a friendly one. "Well sweetie, if you ever need a nice, hot meal; I'm your 'bean'!"

* * *

After having a pleasant conversation with Cookie, she grew curious about the other tenant she hadn't met yet. Grooves. She knew from the Cookie Bean that he and Conductor moved in together for work (they were in the same industry) and that Conductor hated him.

An enemy of Conductor was a friend of hers.

His room was across the hallway from Conductor according to Cookie. Traveling through the walls, she peeked into Grooves' room.

It was the opposite of Conductor's. Grooves' room was bright and colorful, fully decorated and furnished. There were also cardboard props, but they were of strange shapes she had never seen before. Unlike Conductors, Grooves had no trophies.

The Borrower cautiously moved closer inside. She didn't see or hear any sign of him. Then, the front door knob started rattling. Darting behind a cardboard prop, she watched in anticipation.

He was older, but didn't look as old as the Angry Bean. He had darker skin and black hair styled in an afro, with gold streaks. He had a white shirt and a massive red coat with gold buttons. He had a pair of sunglasses shaped like stars, hiding his eyes.

Grooves sighed as he entered his apartment, and she soon found out why. Conductor was hot on his heels. "I'm telling ye! There's something malicious at work!" he screeched.

"Conductor darling," the sparkly bean sighed, rubbing his eyes behind his shades. "There is nothing 'malicious' going on. You put the bottle too close to the sink, it fell, and spilled."

"The cap was on! How could it have spilled?!" Conductor was pacing now, and Grooves seemed anxious to get him out.

"Listen, I think you should cut back on the Scotch-" but he was quickly silenced by a finger in his face.

"DON'T YE LECTURE ME ABOUT MY SCOTCH, DJ GRRRROOVES." the shorter human hissed, jabbing his finger in Grooves' face.

"Conductor, get out of my apartment. I have work to do!" Grooves started pushing Conductor out the door, slamming it quickly.

Judging the two purely on that conversation, Grooves definitely seemed more calm than Conductor. He didn't seem like the type of bean to hear something and immediately buy traps, poison or a cat. But, surely there had to be a reason for Conductor to hate the human so much, right?

Hat Kid frowned. Already two human beans knew of her existence, and that seemed like plenty for right now.

She continued to observe the human for a moment, watching him recite lines from a thick stack of paper. Curiosity satisfied, for now, she crept to the crack in the wall.

As she left, Grooves paused. Being an actor, he had excellent knowledge of when he was being observed. Call it, Actor's Intuition. Feeling eyes on him, he spun around.

But he found no one.

* * *

It was raining again. Rain pounded on the roof of the attic, threatening to seep inside the walls. Thunder boomed far away, rattling the boxes and the little amount of furniture.

Hat Kid couldn't sleep.

She sat in the windowsill, watching the droplets as big as her roll down the window. Snatcher was snoring loudly on a cot nearby. Perhaps when you're larger in size, the rain wasn't so loud.

Continuing to stare out the window, she thought about the Beans in the house. Were they having problems sleeping as well? Did Human Beans think about the same thing as Borrowers? Did they worry about being eaten by cats, or being squashed like bugs?

Did they worry about their families?

Despite her best efforts, the young borrower couldn't help but think of her family. Bow, and Timmy; she hoped they were OK.

In his bed, the Human Bean snorted loudly, rolling onto his side and snapping Hat Kid out of her thoughts. She glanced at him for a moment, before turning back to the window.

Maybe, she had found a new family here.

But they couldn't replace the hole left by her old one.


	3. A Drunken Introduction

Unable to sleep, Hat Kid found solace in sewing. Creating objects from thrown away scraps of fabric brought her great joy. Breathing life into a new creation was so satisfying.

Looking at her creation, she smiled. It was a little ghost, with purple fur around its neck, and bright, gold eyes and smile. Normally, it would've been a hat. But she had added more fabric to create a 'Finger Puppet'.

Happy with the result, she set it down and started on another one. Using leftover gold fabric, she started making a bird-like puppet, with a dark suit and little hat…

She giggled, noticing the similarities between this little puppet and the Angry Bean downstairs.

Suddenly, she had an idea.

* * *

Snatcher woke up to shouting. Groaning, he sat up and stretched, popping his back. He really needed a better mattress, this one was seriously hurting his spine. Stumbling downstairs, the young man loudly complained; "It is _TOO EARLY_ for your shouting, old man!"

It seems like the other tenants agreed with his thought, as Cookie and Grooves were already at the main table.

Conductor was pale, sputtering and gesturing to an object at the table. It was a finger puppet, resembling a strange gold creature, with a dark suit and hat, and a purple tie. Nearby was a piece of paper, with the Conductor's likeness scribbled onto it, along with a heart.

Snatcher's eyes went wide. No one in the house could sew...except for a little Borrower he knew. Gulping nervously, he asked, "Did you make that, old man?"

Now, despite the fact that he was at least in his late fifties, and that Snatcher was a foot taller than him, Conductor turned to the young man, shooting him a death glare. "Ye did this, DIDN'T YE?!" he snarled, barging his way past Cookie and Grooves to pin Snatcher against the wall.

"Hey, hey! You think I can sew?!" Snatcher hissed, giving Cookie and Grooves fearful looks.

Grooves stepped forward, pulling the enraged and frenzied bean away. "C'mon, we'll deal with it later. We have a set to go to-"

As the two left to go to work, Cookie and Snatcher got closer to the abandoned finger puppet. She gave him a look. "It seems as though someone got creative in the middle of the night."

"It wasn't me. I can't sew." he repeated.

"Not you, dear. _Her_."

His voice went flat. "Oh. You know?"

"She came and said hello yesterday. Grooves and Conductor don't know yet." she gave a cat-like grin. "Although it seems like she wants to reach out!"

Snatcher frowned. "After the outburst he just had at me? I don't think I want the kid to meet him."

Cookie nodded in agreement. "The Conductor is...old. And easily prone to paranoia. It happens in the elderly. It's not like what she's been doing is subtle, I heard him shout at Grooves about the rat poison."

He nervously chuckled. "Yeah…"

"You should talk to her." she said quietly. "She isn't ready for Conductor yet."

Climbing back into the attic, Snatcher heard sniffling. "Kid?" his heart sank into his stomach, realizing what the sniffling noise was. "Aw kid, don't cry." he started searching the attic, finding her hiding underneath his pillow.

Her face was red and she had large tears rolling down her face. "He didn't like my gift." she whimpered, her voice barely audible.

Snatcher winced, thinking about how to lightly break this to her. Subtlety wasn't his strong suit. "So... Kid. The Conductor is kinda old. And when you get older, you get more paranoid. It's a mental thing." he sat on his bed, and she wriggled closer and laid her head on his hand. "So, you're doing your thing around the house. But he doesn't know it's you. So, he thinks he's losing his mind."

She wiped the snot on her sleeve. "I worked really hard on it…"

"And he's a moron for not appreciating it. Don't worry, Cookie has it right now." he ruffled her hair as softly as he could.

"I made you one too…" she pointed to the desk.

"No way!" he quickly made his way over to the desk, noticing the purple ghosty finger puppet. "You made this for me?!" sitting back down on the bed, he put on the puppet. "Oh ho! Look at it!"

He wiggled the puppet close to her. _"Oooh! You stepped into my forest!"_

She giggled, hugging the puppet. "I'm glad you like it!" she said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Kid anyone who wouldn't like this, is a heartless _bastard_." he said, enjoying the gasp at his foul language.

"So... let's stay away from Conductor, for now at least, OK?"

* * *

Conductor tried very hard not to think about the strange things that had been going on at the house, and to work on his movie. He tried very hard not to think about the tiny mud prints, or the noises in the walls and floors, how little bits of food and other small items were going missing; and he tried very, very, very hard not to think about the little 'gift' for him on the table.

But most of all, he tried _very_ hard not to think about what Cookie had told him. About the 'Little People' who lived under the floorboards.

Of course, he couldn't help but think about all of it. Something was going on in the house. And he knew that young idiot had a hand in it. Snatcher must be doing this, enjoying the suffering he caused.

Because what was the alternative? Hyper Intelligent Mice? Little People? Preposterous.

He hardly got any filming done today, due to the terrible rainstorm that blew in and his paranoia. Why he chose to film in one of the rainiest places ever, he'll never know. Probably because Grooves wanted to film there.

Returning home, Conductor had one thing on his mind; finding out what was going on in this damn house! He didn't even make any sort of remark to Grooves, that's how focused he was.

Rummaging through his mostly empty cupboards, he thought about his dad. His father always had mice in the barn or in the house, so he taught his young son how to catch them with ease. You get a bowl, coat the edges, and place some bait and more oil inside. Mouse slips in, and can't crawl out.

Having a bowl and oil, Conductor was missing something important. Bait. Reaching all the way back into his pantry, he pulled out a wrinkled bag of sandwich cookies. He had no recollection of when he bought it, ate it, or shoved it way back in his pantry; but that wasn't important. Pulling out a single, stale cookie, he placed it in the middle of the oil coated bowl.

The trap was set.

He placed it in the main hall, by a large crack in the wall. No self-respecting vermin would pass up such an easy treat. Mentally praising himself for how clever he was, The Conductor turned to have a few choice words with the lowlife in the attic.

Snatcher was on his computer, messaging a client. While 'day job' was a bit of a stretch, he made good money as an online legal consultant. Although to his utter annoyance, no one in the house seemed to understand. Guess that's what happens when the youngest person (besides himself and Hat Kid) is in her late thirties.

Conductor slammed open the trapdoor. "There ye are! Don't think Ah've forgotten about yer little prank this morning!"

"C'mon in, no need to knock." Snatcher muttered sarcastically, not looking away from his laptop.

"So, where is it?!" the old man stomped around the attic, looking for something. Snatcher immediately glanced at the dollhouse, stomach sinking.

"Where's what?" he asked, trying to direct Conductor away from the little borrower house.

"The little...thing ye made! Ah know it's up here!"

Snatcher sighed, rubbing the bags under his eyes. Time to take the fall. "Fine. It was me. Happy now? I made it for Cookie. See, I made one for me too." he pulled the little ghost Hat Kid made him from a drawer.

"Give it to me." Conductor demanded, trying to snatch the puppet from his hand.

"What?! No way old man! This is mine!" he held the puppet over his head, smirking as the shorter human tried to reach it.

Giving up, the Conductor huffed and fixed his tie. "Don't think I'm going to forget and forgive so easily, lad."

"Is it because elephants never forget?" he grinned at the furious old man. "Get out of my attic."

After basically shoving the angry old man through the trapdoor, Snatcher heaved a sigh. "That was close, eh Kid?" he opened the dollhouse, grinning. But his grin quickly faded as he realized the little borrower wasn't in there. "...kid?"

Hat Kid stared at the bowl curiously. It was a bowl with a single cookie inside. Was it an offering from the Cookie Bean? Did some other forgetful bean leave it?

Well, surely no one would mind if she helped herself.

Quickly clambering to the top of the bowl, she hopped inside and took a big bite of the cookie. She gagged; this cookie was beyond stale! Seeing this cookie operation as a bust, she turned to leave.

But she couldn't.

The walls of the bowls were coated in a thick oil she didn't see before. And as she struggled more, she found the oil covered her hands and feet more and more.

Fear shook her small frame. This was a trap, like Tim, Thor, Timmy and Bow had warned her about. And she was dumb enough to fall for it.

Whimpering, tears threatening to spill from her eyes, she kept trying. She had to escape! She wasn't a dumb animal, she could escape!

After several more tries to climb out, she started to get tired. No, this is what whoever set the trap wanted. For her to get tired, to give up, to die covered in oil. Well, she wasn't going down without a fight!

Hat Kid even tried to use the cookie as a foothold, but it too was starting to get coated in oil.

Just as hope was lost, she heard it. "Kid? Where are you?!" came a panicked whisper from down the hall.

"I'm here! I'm covered in oil and this cookie is stale!" she blubbered, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Snatcher peered from down the hallway. Seeing the bowl he quickly sprinted over to rescue her. "Aw kid, what happened?" he gently picked her up by the cape, setting her down in the palm of his other hand. He shuddered. "You're...slimy. Is that oil?!"

Nodding and quietly crying, she held tightly onto his fingers, wanting comfort. He gave a sad smile as he stood up. "Don't worry kiddo, we'll fix this."

* * *

Hat Kid was currently taking a bath in a tea cup at Cookie's. The oil was on her hands, feet, face, everywhere! So Cookie Bean had drawn up a miniature bath for the Borrower and offered to wash her clothes.

In the other room, the two beans talked.

"We need to do something about Conductor. The more paranoid he gets, the more dangerous he's going to get!" he hissed, holding the oil-soaked top hat between his fingernails. He was furious at the old man, he could have seriously hurt the little borrower!

"Well what do you suggest?" Cookie sighed, hanging Hat Kid's little purple dress to dry.

He grasped his hands together, a nervous habit of his, and turned to her. "Let's get him completely wasted."

She stuttered, almost dropping the tiny brown boots down the sink drain. "Are you insane?!"

"Hear me out, hear me out. You've never seen the old coot drunk before. I. Have." he sighed, rubbing his temples as he thought about last time. "He turns into the biggest, most sentimental, most pathetic _BABY_ I've ever seen!"

Eyes widening in surprise, she leaned in closer. "...really?"

"Really. He cried about his mom and her train, said how I reminded him of his son or whatever and then hugged me, crying, until he passed out."

She gave a mischievous grin. "You're serious? Have you mentioned it?"

"I tried once. But he gut punched me so hard I had to lay down for hours." he winced, remembering how painful it was.

"So, you think we should get him drunk-"

"And his grandfatherly instincts will kick in, and bing, bang, boom, Conductor falls in love with her like you have." he placed his hands on his hips, and gave a smug smile. He sure was smart.

"And like you have?" she purred.

He sputtered, "No! She's just a kid who lives in the attic with me! I'm a lone wolf! I don't have friends, or anything of the sort!"

Cookie gave a motherly smile. "If you say so, dear."

"I'm ready to get out now!" Hat Kid called out. She had scrubbed off all the oil by now, and wanted to go home. "Thanks again Miss Cookie...I'm sorry if I interrupted your night.."

"Don't apologize dear!" she wrapped up the tiny girl in a hand towel, placing her on the couch and turning on some brightly colored cartoons. "You didn't interrupt anything, I'm always here to help! Me and Snatcher are talking, watch this while you, and your clothes, dry off."

After making sure the child was comfortable, Cookie returned to Snatcher. "Thanks again, I didn't feel...comfortable giving her a bath."

"So, we have Conductor, what about Grooves?" she asked the young man. "Are we going to get him drunk too?"

He scoffed. "I've never met anyone as relaxed as Grooves. I don't think he'll be a problem." Snatcher didn't even think Grooves had noticed anything strange going on. He was the Yin to Conductor's Yang. "I'm sure after she gets used to Conductor, we'll introduce Grooves. Slowly. Slowly introduce."

Cookie nodded. "You're being a marvelous help. Such a young girl...all alone…"

* * *

Snatcher unfortunately discovered that it took quite a _lot_ for the old director to get drunk. Of course, Conductor was suspicious, but after the young man explained it was an apology for the finger puppet, he gladly accepted the apology alcohol.

Snatcher bought him a bottle of Scotch and Whiskey, as a 'gesture of goodwill'. He then watched in absolute horror, and slight awe, as Conductor popped open the Scotch and started drinking it straight from the bottle.

He thanked Snatcher, and then sauntered to the common area. The stage was set. "OK Kid. Ready to go meet Conductor?"

Hat Kid looked rather concerned. She was aware that alcohol made Beans and Borrowers alike...different.

"Look, he's not gonna hurt you. He's probably gonna see you and just start bawling." he said with an air of smugness, waving his hand dismissively.

She gulped, but put on a brave face as she marched into the common area. She didn't see him right away, so she climbed onto a table to get a better view.

Turns out, he was right behind her.

Gasping, she spun around to face the angry bean. Although, thankfully, he didn't seem up to his namesake at the moment. He blinked at her, tilting his head slightly like a confused dog. He glanced at the now half empty bottle of whiskey in his hands, then back at her. "...Ah'm more drunk than ah thought…"

Comforted by how passive he was being, she stood her ground, swallowing nervously. After a few tense moments, he shrugged and stumbled to a nearby couch. In a matter of moments, he started to snore.

She heaved a heavy sigh, as she had been unconsciously holding her breath around him. But that was hardly an introduction.

Carefully climbing down from the table, she started to scale the back of the couch. Reaching the top, she sat down to catch her breath. Couches were big! She leaned over the edge, hesitating. "...Conductor? Sir?" he shifted as she called out to him. "Are you OK?"

No response.

She moved from the back of the couch to the armrest. "Sir! Are you OK!?" she asked, louder this time.

He snorted, slowly sitting up. The Conductor looked at her, blinking in surprise. His face was about a foot away from her. "Are you OK?" she asked for the final time, fiddling with the bottom of her dress nervously.

She watched him look her over with a scrutinous expression. Satisfied with whatever he was looking at, he slowly smiled. He started to reach over, and she braced herself for whatever was coming next-

"Ye've got a tiny top hat." he wheezed, his shaky smile growing larger. The Bean tapped her hat gently. "Did ye make it yerself?" his voice was slurred, and his accent was thicker than usual.

Taken aback, she fixed her hat, tilting it back. Really? The hat was the first thing he notices? But, it was still a nice compliment, and she nodded.

He was practically grinning from ear to ear. "Well, yer quite the talented lass then, ain't ya?"

Hat Kid couldn't help but blush. Conductor let out something that sounded like a mix between a cackle and a giggle, and she couldn't decide if that was a good thing or not.

"Oh geeze old man, you got into your booze again?"

Rage flashed on the old man's features. She gasped and took a step back in fear. Conductor's head turned to voice in the doorway.

Snatcher had a wide, smug grin spread on his face. Arms folded, leaning on the doorway.

The Angry bean leaned close to Hat Kid, and she could smell the booze on him. "Don' pay attention ta him lass. He can't see ye!"

"Um, I can. Actually." walking over to the Borrower, he offered his hand for her to hop onto. Hat Kid happily obliged, climbing onto the bean's hand.

Conductor seemed confused, but quickly grew angry. "Don't! Ye! Touch her!" he snarled. Stomping closer, the angry bean snatched Hat Kid out of Snatcher's hands and into his own.

She squeaked fearfully, the exchange between the two was a little too rough for her tastes. The old man heard her squeak, and immediately started to try, keyword try, to comfort her. Cupping her in one hand, he used the other to gently prod her for injuries. "Oh! Ah'm so sorry lil lassie! Ah'm so sorry! Lemme look at ye."

Satisfied she wasn't injured, he smiled at her. "Yer...yer so tiny!"

As the old bean cooed over her, Snatcher grinned. His plan was working perfectly. Strolling up to the two, he placed a hand on Conductor's shoulder. "This, is Hat Kid. Put her down for a second, so we can talk."

"Hi!" she chirped, waving her hand. "Here, set me on the table."

The Angry bean did so, nodding slowly. Seizing the opportunity, the young man leaned closer. "She's a very little girl...who got separated from her family." he purred in his ear. "She's all alone...the poor, poor dear." his sympathetic frown twitched into a sly grin.

Conductor sniffled. "T-The poor lassie!"

"Absolutely heartbreaking." Snatcher placed both hands on the Conductor's shoulders in mock empathy. But his large grin betrayed his gesture. "The poor child is only…" he glanced at the bewildered Hat Kid. "...psst kid, how old are you?"

"Nine and a half-"

"Nine and a half! She's so young!"

Conductor was making an odd sort of whimpering noise. This was it. Time for the killing blow. Hissing in his ear, "And you were going to poison her."

The Conductor broke down. He sounded like a dying bird, and Snatcher assumed it was crying? He hoped it was crying, otherwise the old man should see a doctor. Regardless, the angry bean was sobbing at the tiny girl, slurring apologies and how guilty he was. "If, if there's anything, *hic!* anything Ah ca' do for ye, lassie! Anything!"

The little borrower felt kinda bad...but he _did_ say anything. "Can I sit on your shoulder?!" she gasped, hopping around the table like a little robin.

"Er - maybe another time." Snatcher interjected, stepping between the two. He saw the old man stumble around like a drunken sailor, and he did _not_ like the idea of his tiny Borrower riding his shoulders. "And quit you're crying old man."

"But...she's so small, laddie!" he whimpered. "Ah can't protect her!"

"You don't need to worry about that, old man. Let's just get you to bed. Say goodnight to Hat Kid." Snatcher, admittedly, did not think about this part. But his plan had gone off without a hitch! Conductor and Hat Kid were acquainted with now, and he could focus on Grooves later.

Right now, he had to get this old man to bed.

* * *

Cookie and Snatcher stared at the Conductor at the breakfast table. He stumbled out of his room around ten in the morning, complaining about a terrible headache. He had been quiet, sipping his coffee and doing the morning newspaper crossword.

Cookie cleared her throat. "So...do you remember last night?"

He looked suspicious. "...why?"

Before anyone could stop her, Hat Kid scampered across the table to get a packet of sugar nearby. "Morning Conductor!" she said cheerfully, opening the packet to get the delicious sugar inside.

"Morning little lass-" he greeted, sipping his coffee. Then as the realization hit him like a train, he sputtered and started choking on his coffee. "WHAT?! WHY IS THERE A TINY GIRL ON THA TABLE?!" he shrieked.

Snatcher sighed, rubbing his temples. Apparently, his plan hadn't worked as he hoped.


	4. Family Breakfast

After Snatcher and Cookie explained to the Conductor that, no, he was not going crazy, he settled down.

"So...yer a little lass. Called a Borrower. And ye got separated from yer family so ye've been living here?" he asked slowly, still half convinced he was dreaming.

Hat Kid nodded. "And you tried to poison me and trap me in a bowl." she started nibbling on a grape that Cookie had given her.

"No, Ah got those for...the...mice." he said, realizing what he had done halfway through the sentence. "...oh no."

Snatcher grinned, pleased to see the Conductor squirm. "Oh yes. You did. Remember how the bottle tipped over? That was her."

"Oh god I almost killed a child…" the angry bean groaned, holding his head in his hands.

"I'm nine and a half!" she chirped proudly.

"Nine?! Lassie what are ye doing by yerself?! Why didn't ye say something in the first place!?" he slammed his hands on the table, causing it to shake.

She whimpered, stepping closer to Cookie and Snatcher. The Cookie Bean sighed. "Not every human is nice, Conductor."

"Yeah and there's a reason she didn't go to you. Your nickname was essentially 'The Angry One'." Snatcher hissed, placing his hand on the table for the little girl to hide behind.

Guilt flashed on the Angry Bean's features. "I had no idea! I'm so sorry lass…"

Cookie nodded. "So it's just the three of us who knows. We shouldn't let it slip-"

"So DJ Peck Neck doesn't know?!" A wicked grin spread on the Conductor's face.

"He will in a moment! Hey, Grooves!" Snatcher shouted upstairs. "Wanna see something adorable?!"

Hat Kid huffed. "I'm not adorable!"

"Agree to disagree…"

"Sweetie you are precious!"

"I have to agree with the lowlife, lassie."

DJ Grooves poked his head through the door. "You called, darlings?"

Snatcher gestured to the tiny girl on the table. Hat Kid gave a little wave. The Sparkly Bean stepped closer. "Is it...a toy?"

"No, I'm a kid!"

Grooves' jaw dropped. "I-I need to sit down." he slowly sat down in a nearby chair, staring at the small girl. He finally looked at the other three. "Did you all know about this?"

"I just found out this morning." Conductor growled, sipping his coffee.

"This is Hat Kid." Snatcher introduced. "She's a Borrower. She got separated from her family, so she's staying with us."

"The poor darling! I have no objections." he replied nonchalantly, as if he didn't just discover there were a whole other race of humanoid people who live in houses.

"I like your red outfit." she pointed to the large jacket he was wearing.

"Why thank you darling! Aren't you a charmer?" he offered a finger for her to shake, in an attempt to be professional.

Cookie clapped her hands together. "Oh! Look at us! This calls for a celebration! I'll make breakfast! What do you guys want?"

"BACON!" Snatcher perked up immediately, bouncing in his chair slightly.

"No. You always ask that." Cookie angrily sighed. "I'm so sick of bacon."

"I'm not!"

"Advil and a strong coffee." Conductor said quietly, noticing his now empty coffee mug.

Grooves put a bit more thought into his answer. "Pancakes? Kids like pancakes."

"Bacon and Pancakes!"

"I'm not making you bacon!"

"Stop shouting the lot of ye! Yer making me headache worse!"

"Well darling, we're not the ones who decided to drink all night."

Hat Kid watched all four of them talking. She couldn't help but smile. These Human Beans wouldn't hurt her. She felt strangely safe surrounded by them, but she did have a question.

"Um, what's a pancake?"

The four stopped their squabbling. Cookie was the first to speak. "Sweetie, you've never had a pancake?"

"That's just sad." the purple bean muttered.

Cookie vanished into the kitchen, and things seemed to have settled down. Grooves and Conductor were discussing their movie sets and actors, and Snatcher was on a strange, box shaped device.

Bored, she started to crawl on Conductor's arm. She felt him stiffen as she did so, afraid of hurting her. The Angry Bean grew quiet, curiously watching her climb his sleeve. "What are ye doing, little lass?" he asked, picking her up by her collar.

"I've never had Human Bean friends! And I've never seen one super up close before. Can I sit on your shoulder?" she clasped her hands together in a pleading gesture.

"...Bean?"

"That's what she calls humans." Snatcher explained. "Because we're so tall, like beanstalks."

Grooves chuckled. "Conductor? Tall? I guess it was bound to happen eventually."

Conductor shot Grooves a dirty glare, before turning to the tiny lass, face softening. "Um, sure Lassie."

Offering his hand, she climbed into it. His hand wasn't as big as Snatchers, and it had more wrinkles. He held his hand close to his shoulder, allowing her to hop up. Sitting on her shoulder, she felt...tall.

Another thing that she realized, human beans were _warm_! She could only guess that their large size radiated heat. She giggled, swinging her feet as she got more comfortable.

Conductor didn't feel the same way. Having such a frail creature sitting on his shoulder was anxiety-inducing to be sure. She could fall, or slip, and dozens of other horrific scenarios were racing through his mind.

He tried to relax, but couldn't help but fearfully grip the table and remain as still and stiff as he could.

"So, darling." Grooves, in a moment of kindness towards his rival, got her attention. "It's not raining outside, why don't you go play outside while we wait? Um, that's something you can do, right?"

Hat Kid frowned. Usually the outside world was dangerous, but this house was very secluded. She did see a young Child Bean outside, but she was on the other side of the house.

But she rarely gave up a chance to explore.

Nodding, she chirped; "Sure! That sounds fun! Um, can you help me down?" she gently tugged on the Angry Bean's hair. Was he still the Angry Bean? That was something she'd have to think about it.

"O-Of course." he was internally relieved. Having her on his shoulder was about to give him a headache from the anxiety. Once again she hopped on his hand. "Should I set ye on the back step?"

"Sure!"

Carefully, taking extra care to make sure she wouldn't fall out his hand, he walked to the back door. Opening it, he knelt down and let her jump out of his hand onto the back step. "Ah'll leave the door open, OK?"

She nodded, looking out over the garden. "Got it!"

* * *

The Garden was bright and green, covered with weeds and flowers and large bushes. The occasional red brick or broken pot lay scattered on the pathway. A perfect playground for a Borrower.

Darting around, she jumped off the back step to a large, broken plant pot. Climbing to the top, she slid back down, like a makeshift slide. Giggling the entire time, she repeated the process for several minutes until she got tired.

She remembered Bow taking the time to teach Hat Kid which plants were edible, which ones were good for seasonings, and which ones to avoid. Could this overgrown jungle have such plants?

In a broken pot, she had found some wild basil, forgotten by the house's tenants. She found some chives near the wall, so now she had some chives and basil to give to Cookie.

One plant stumped her, however. It was a tiny bush near a large bush, with small, bright green leaves. It smelled awful. She remembered seeing this before...it was on the tip of her tongue…

 _Myow!_

"...Catnip."

Hat Kid spun around. It was an orange cat with cream markings on its belly, face and ears. It's bright green eyes were focused solely on _her_.

With a loud meow, it tried to swing at her. She screamed as loud as she could, trying to get the attention of the beans inside. Darting underneath the cat, running as fast as she could with tears streaming down her cheeks.

The cat yowled and started to chase after her, swinging its paws dangerously close behind her, shredding her cape. She shrieked in pain as a claw sliced her leg. Using the last of her strength, she crawled underneath a bush.

She could see the cat try to reach her from outside of the bush, and she dragged herself deeper inside. Sobbing, she curled up into a ball. She felt sick to her stomach from the fear, and she had no idea what to do.

There were footsteps coming closer. "Darling? Oh god-" the cat yelped as someone picked it up, tossing it aside. "Darling, are you in the bush? Are you OK?"

"Grooves?" she whimpered, crawling out.

Hat Kid was gingerly lifted into the air by her ruined cape. "Oh, darling, darling, darling! Did that cat do this?!" he set her down in his palm, poking her leg with his finger. She winced, curling up in pain. "Don't worry, we'll fix this!"

As quickly as he could, for someone with a tiny girl in his palms, he hurried to the kitchen. "There was an accident!" Grooves loudly announced, setting the injured borrower on a napkin.

All four Beans began to loudly talk, expressing their concern over her.

"Oh god, oh god is the kid OK?!"

"I think it was a cat, darling. One of the orange ones."

"Oh! The catnip bush I planted! It's all my fault!"

"I told ye that bush would bring nothing but TROUBLE!"

It felt nice to have people worry about her, but it didn't help the agonizing pain in her leg. Her whimpering seemed to snap them out of it, and brought the attention back to her.

Cookie took initiative. "Alright boys, step aside, let me see. I watch my nephews all the time, and they like to rough house." she carefully examined the wound, the other three beans worriedly looking over her shoulder.

"Snatcher, dear? Get me a washcloth with some soap on it." she instructed. He was a bit taken aback by the command, but nodded his head and sprinted off.

"Oh, lassie that doesn't look good-" Conductor nervously muttered.

"OK, you two are in my light. Back off." she growled. The two directors moved out of the way, but still in a position to see her. "Conductor, get me one of the little bandages we have, will ya?"

"Yes m'am!" he muttered, rummaging through the medical cabinet in the kitchen.

Snatcher returned, with a towel. "I didn't know what kind of soap, so I just got it damp-"

Cookie yanked the washcloth out of his hands, turning to Hat Kid. "Sweetie, this is going to sting. But I need to clean the wound." gently tapping the scratch with the washcloth. The little girl whimpered, biting her lip to keep from crying out.

The old director came back, sweating and dumping a pile of bandages on the table. "A-Ah panicked. Ah just grabbed them all."

Grooves picked out a small bandage, handing it to Cookie. "This looks small enough."

"Grooves, get me a toothpick, some scissors and some tape; and Snatcher stop looming over me like that!" Cookie shooed the young man away, and he sat at the table with a fearful expression.

When the DJ returned, she got to work. Using the scissors to cut down the bandage, she patched up the cut the best she could. Using the tape and the toothpick, she made a teeny, tiny splint for the teeny, tiny girl. "And there! Good as new!" she purred, patting Hat Kid on the head. "We'll check it in a few hours!"

She sniffled, feeling fresh tears roll down her cheeks. These Beans, some she had met this just morning, saved her life. As she started to sob, Snatcher practically shoved the three out of the way to get a better look at her. "Hey, hey don't cry kid! You're OK!" he grinned at her. Or at least until he was shoved out of the way was well by Conductor.

"Oi! Don't shove, laddie!" he barked. "Yer alright, Lass! We won't let any cat get ye!"

As Conductor and Snatcher fought over...nothing, Grooves took a more proactive role. "I got you a pillow, darling." helping her climb up onto it, he turned to Cookie. "Weren't you cooking?"

She gasped. "My pancakes! They're ruined!" and dashed back to the kitchen.

Hat Kid and Grooves watched as Conductor and Snatcher continued to fight and argue. "So, darling. If I may, where's your family?"

"There's a stream nearby, I think. We were moving, during the rainstorm a few days ago. And I fell out of the boat and got washed away." she was a bit distracted in her reply, hoping that the pancakes were fine. Almost dying really worked up an appetite!

Grooves nodded in thought. "In theory, if we follow this stream, we could find your family's boat?"

Her eyes lit up. She never thought of that! "I bet we could! Oh, but it'd take me all day to find it again!"

"Darlin'! Do you really think we'd let you wander around after what just happened? We'd help! Or, at least I would." he gestured to himself, smiling at her.

Squirming, she tried to get closer to his hand. Hugging his fingers tight, she whimpered, "Thank you thank you thank you!"

Cookie appeared again, sighing. "So, I managed to salvage a few, but there is a problem."

"Are they not edible?" Snatcher asked.

"Like that'll turn ye away. Ah watched ye pull a soda out of the trash and drink it-"

"They're a bit...big. The smaller ones burnt." she looked at Hat Kid as she said that.

Picking up what she meant, the tiny girl huffed indignantly. "I can handle it! C'mon I'm hungry!"

Cookie snickered, and shrugged. "You're the boss…" she slid a plate up to the girl, who immediately started regretting her decision.

The pancake was at least the size of the plate, covered in a sticky syrup and butter. There was no way she could eat all of this.

But she was sure going to try.

She started nibbling the edge closest to her. It was so sweet and fluffy! How did she go without them?! The syrup stuck to her hair and clothes, but she didn't notice.

She did notice the four pairs of eyes watching her eat the pancake. She blushed. "A-Am I doing something wrong?"

"Kid, I'm currently at the table with a child smaller than the size of my hand eating a pancake the size of a dinner plate. This is a bit bizarre, even for us."

"Also it's super cute!" Cookie cooed, sliding a plate of several pancakes to Snatcher. He immediately began to tore into them, as if he hadn't eaten in several days.

"I'm not cute! I'm cool and tough!" she squeaked.

"Lassie, should I cut that for ye?" Conductor offered, smirking at her adorable little tantrum.

"Yes. Please." she pouted, puffing out her cheeks.

They continued their breakfast without a hitch, talking about what they would do today, and other topics like that.

It was a strange little family she had gathered, but it was hers. And she wouldn't have it any other way.


	5. The River

Conductor and Grooves left first, both saying goodbye to the small girl before they left for work. Cookie was next, wearing a white coat and chef's hat. She pat the little borrower on the head, and tried to give Snatcher a hug, but he wasn't having it.

Shrugging, she headed for the door, asking the young man to not eat all the food, or set the kitchen on fire while they were gone. He only grinned as a reply.

And the two were alone.

"You're not going to eat all the food, right?" Hat Kid tilted her head slightly. "...or set the kitchen on fire?"

"Naaah. I have work to do, although I will probably eat all the ice cream. Stay here while I get my PC, and I'll put on some TV. Kids like TV, right?"

Before she could reply to anything he said, he quickly walked over to the ladder upstairs, disappearing up into the attic. He returned shortly, holding a silver rectangle under his arm.

"Hey um, what's ice cream?" she asked, climbing onto his hand.

"Kid, you're breaking my heart! You've never had ice cream?" he sat on the couch, setting her down on a pillow. "When I get hungry, I'll let you have some too." He turned on the television for her, and started to work on his computer.

Now, Hat Kid was more interested in what he was doing on the strange, silver contraption. Thor would've killed to see something like that. Minding her hurt leg, she slowly crawled off the pillow.

Moving closer to the device, she started crawling on his leg to get closer, making him jump. "Jeez kid! You're way too quiet for someone your size. We should put a bell on you."

"What's this?" she pointed at the laptop screen. She could see letters, was it a advanced book?

"It's my laptop. I use it to talk to my clients." helping her up, she sat on his leg and looked at it.

He tried to explain how his job worked, using big technical terms she had no idea about. She quickly lost interest in his…'laptop', and moved on to her next interest.

Snuggling with him.

Hat Kid had a very tiring morning. Being chased by a cat, getting attacked, getting wrapped up, and eating at least half of the giant pancake. Currently, she was still in a lot of pain, but very full and very sleepy.

She yawned, leaning against him. He wasn't the softest pillow in the world, in all honesty he felt rather...bony. But she was tired, and the warmth he was radiating and the comfort of snuggling with him was more than enough to send her to sleep.

Snatcher paused his lengthy computer talk as soon as he heard quiet snores. Looking down, he had to press a hand to his mouth so he wouldn't make any loud noises. She was going to kill him with how cute she was.

For the first time since the Borrower wormed her way into his life, he felt...big. Really big, and powerful. She was so small, so frail. A flick of his wrist and she'd be...gone. He could do some serious damage to her, and it would be such a small thing.

Of course he would never, ever so anything of the sort. Only a sick freak would hurt a creature that small. And that's what worried him. He couldn't always be there to protect her, and there were some seriously disturbed people out there.

He knew that from googling ' _What to do with tiny people._ '

People were gross.

Glancing down at the tiny girl asleep on his hip, he shifted slightly. He could still work with her sleeping on him.

Turning off the TV, he returned to his work, occasionally glancing down at the sleeping girl. She needed the sleep.

But a couple hours later, he had finished his work. He really needed to pee, and he was starting to get hungry. Well, he was always hungry. Due to how she treated him, and the fact that he still had the metabolism of a teenager, Snatcher was always starving.

He put his computer up, and gently poked her shoulder. "Hey, kid. C'mon let's get ice cream."

Hat Kid whimpered, unhappy to be shaken from her nap. "Wha's ice cream?"

"Lunch. C'mon I'm hungry." he picked her up, cupping the tiny girl in his hands.

Snatcher set her down on a napkin as he retrieved the frozen dessert and some bowls, hers being very small. "Trust me kid, you'll love it." he handed her a small bowl with a tiny scoop of triple chocolate fudge.

Hat Kid sniffed the dessert, reaching a hand down to get a taste. Her eyes went wide. "This is the best thing I've ever tasted! It's so cold! But so sweet!" she squealed, continuing to nibble it.

"Told you you'd like it." he had decided just to eat out of the carton. "Um, do you want a spoon? Of some kind?"

Her mouth full of ice cream, she shook her head. She didn't notice how cold her fingers and mouth were getting, she was too distracted.

Then it hit her all at once, the cold and the sugar content. Shivering, she jogged in place. "T-That's rrrrreallly coooold." she chattered, rubbing her arms to try to get warm.

"Hey, hey kid. You OK?" Snatcher tilted his head. He'd never had kids, never really interacted with kids, never babysat kids; he really shouldn't have been placed in charge.

"Cold!" she squealed. "Cold, cold, cold!" she ran towards him (the best she could with her hurt leg), hugging the arm he was laying on the table. "Too cold! Cold!"

"I should've told you, ICE cream is COLD." he teased, draping a napkin over her. "I'm honestly surprised you haven't gotten a sugar rush."

"My head feels frozen." she whimpered, snuggling close. "My brain hurts."

Snatcher had polished off the entire container in a matter of minutes, and had moved on to her abandoned bowl. "Oh, that's brain freeze. Press your tongue up against the roof of your mouth." he instructed.

Hat Kid's face scrunched up as she did as he said, continuing to snuggle against him. "Can woo do mwe a favwor?" she said, tongue on the roof of her mouth.

"Wes I can do woo a favwor." he said, mimicking her tone. "What's up?"

"Can woo take mwe to the stweam? To find my boat?"

"Your boat?"

She shook her head. "Oh good, my head doesn't hurt." She explained, "So, my family was moving, and we used an old tea kettle for a boat, but I fell overboard and lost them. If I find the boat, then I find my family!"

"Well hot shit, Dave!" he exclaimed, standing up. "Why didn't you say so earlier? Let's go!"

* * *

Hat Kid clung tightly to the fibers of his vest as she sat on her shoulder. From her advantage point she scanned the stream. It was much smaller now.

"What color is this Tea Pot?" he asked, keeping his voice quiet so he didn't hurt her ears.

"Bronze. Very old." she replied.

Snatcher slowly walked down the stream, keeping an eye open. "And, tell me about your family."

She paused. How to describe them? "Well, they're not my birth family. I never knew my parents. My family is an amalgamation of people who I consider family. Tim found me as a baby, he's sort of the head of the family. He's older, and taught me how to borrow. He's very funny."

"He seems nice." Snatcher paused to poke at a frog with his leg. "Do frogs eat borrowers?"

"If they get the chance." she glared at the frog. "Thor is my uncle. He's very smart, but very serious. He invents things to help make borrowing easily." she frowned. "Honestly, I never felt too close to Tim or Thor. But they were my guardians. But there's Timmy, and Bow! They're my best friends, we're practically siblings."

"Aww. I never had any siblings. What are they like?"

"Well Timmy is serious too, but he's just protective. Secretly he's a big teddy bear. And Bow is super silly! We'd do everything together. I just hope they're OK."

"I'm sure they are, kid." he assured her. "After all, you're doing fine."

Suddenly, Snatcher froze.

"What's wrong-" Hat Kid's breath caught in her throat. The stream, the one Thor had told her so long ago was small, and would lead them to safety, was now a river with large rapids. Raging water pounded against rocks and anything unfortunate enough to get swept up in the river.

There was no way her family could have survived that.

She could only picture their boat tipping over, her family spilling into the water and being pulled under, crying out for help before being smothered by the liquid.

Hat Kid started bawling her eyes out, sobbing loudly on the bean's shoulder. Her friend shuddered, gently picking her up off his shoulder and holding her close to his chest in a 'hug'. "I-I'm so sorry, Kid. I'm so sorry."

He spun on his heel, quickly heading back to the house and away from the rapids. She sobbed into his chest, sobbing and sniffling, tears rolling down her cheeks. She'd never see them again. There was no way.

They were probably long gone.

* * *

Snatcher had taken her home, and by then she had passed out in his hands. The sheer emotional toll had tuckered her out badly. Although she'd probably be up that night.

He tucked her into the dollhouse bed, making sure she was as cozy as could be. Then he sat with his PC at the dining room table, and waited for the others to return home to relay the news.

"We're baaack!" Cookie sang, followed by Conductor and Grooves.

"Well, how was babysitting, darling? How'd it go?" Grooves looked around. "Where's the little darling?"

Snatcher frowned at them sadly, shaking his head.

"Oh...not good, eh? What happened laddie?" the three other adults sat at the table with him, worried.

Snatcher chuckled nervously. "Well, the good news is she likes ice cream!" his laughter died, and he looked away. "T-The bad news is...her family might be dead."

"What?!" they exclaimed.

"H-How!? What happened? Oh, the poor lassie…" the old director held his head in his hands.

"D-Did you see any...um...bodies?" Grooves asked quietly.

"No, no, no. I took her down to the stream. And the stream turns into rapids...no teapot would survive that. And I doubt four tiny people would, either." Snatcher anxiously wrung his hands. "She was...devastated to say the least."

"The poor...poor dear…" Cookie looked like she was on the brink of crying herself. She collected herself, a look of determination in her eyes. "Well, she can stay here, then! As long as I am here, I will take care of her."

"Of course! I'll be there to assist." Grooves nodded in agreement.

"Ay! The lass needs us!"

"Right. We'll have to be there in her stead. We're all she has now."


	6. An Adventure Gone Wrong

Hat Kid spent the next few days in a depressed haze. After seeing the rapids, she had accepted she would probably never see her family again. And that fact depressed her deeply.

The Beans in the house did their very best to lift the tiny girl's spirits. Cookie had been teaching her how to cook, Conductor allowed her to sit on his shoulders or on his hat (something that brought her great joy), Grooves had shown her all his props and makeup and they had a lot of fun with the latter, and Snatcher had told her stories and was generally just there for her.

But nothing seemed to work.

She still sulked around the house, trying to busy herself with small tasks. And her housemates were running out of ideas.

Snatcher paced in the kitchen. "Nothing is working, and I can't work with how miserable she is!" he glanced at the others. "B-Because it's annoying."

Cookie smirked. "You're not fooling anyone. You like her just as much as we do. If not more."

"No way! She's just a roommate now." he scoffed. But he was lying.

Conductor sighed, reaching into a cupboard for his whiskey. "Listen, the only thing that'll help the lass, is time."

"Can't we speed that up?" the young man asked, not happy with that answer.

"Ye can't speed up the grieving process! It's a _process_!" the old man growled, then took a shot of his whiskey.

Now, Hat Kid could still hear them as she was currently wrapped up in a blanket burrito that Grooves had made for her. Just because she was small didn't mean she couldn't hear them from a couple rooms away.

She knew she was sad, and she felt rather justified in that regard. But she couldn't be sad forever, and she knew what would help. Getting out of this house and going for an adventure!

But after the run in with the cat, she didn't feel like adventuring in the garden. But, it's not like she could travel far on her own-

"Listen, me and DJ Peck Neck over here-"

"Hey!"

"Ye know I'm right! Anyways, me and Grooves have to go into work tomorrow."

That was it! That was how she'd get out of this stuffy house, and get her mind off her old family. To spend some time with her new one.

By sneaking off to wherever they went. Already her Borrowing mind went to work. She could hide in one of the Conductor's jacket pockets. He had admitted before he barely used them, and forgot half of them were even there.

It was the perfect plan.

The next morning, Hat Kid crept out of her dollhouse earlier than usual. She paid extra close attention to Snatcher as he loudly snored in his bed. He was a light sleeper, often catching her trying to go for midnight snacks.

Crawling through the walls, she popped into Conductor's apartment. She hadn't been in here since when she spilled the rat poison in the sink. She just needed to find his jacket.

Pacing around his apartment was Conductor - sans jacket - loudly talking on the phone. Good start. His jacket was lying on the couch; no challenge for a Borrower!

Scaling down the counter, she scampered over to the couch. He hadn't seen her yet, gotta keep moving. She just had to get to his coat pocket!

Hat Kid had only been Snatcher's pocket once. She enjoyed the experience greatly; but the idea made others uncomfortable. A tiny, frail child in a place they can't even see? They weren't a fan. They didn't even like it when she sat on their shoulder.

She crawled into a nearby pocket in his jacket. It was silky, not quite soft but not uncomfortable. Squirming deeper into the pocket, she let out a small sigh.

Suddenly, the jacket was picked up. Stifling a yelp, she heard Conductor shout, "OI! DJ PECK NECK! WE'RE GONNA BE LATE!" he put the jacket on, and stormed out of his apartment.

Hat Kid couldn't hear his heartbeat like when she was in Snatcher's pocket, but his warmth did make her sleepy. A little nap wouldn't hurt, right?

As the child drifted off, Conductor left the house completely unaware that there was a tiny child in his pocket.

Cookie hummed, working on making her, Snatcher, and the tiny girl who was currently not in the house. But no one knew that.

Snatcher came downstairs, grabbing a cup of coffee. "Morning, Cookie. Morning kid."

"She hasn't come down yet." she explained, a little confused. "I thought she was still asleep…"

He paused. "No...she wasn't in her dollhouse…" the two were quiet, and still. Snatcher quickly checked the bottom of his shoes, as Cookie called out her name through the house.

As moments turned to minutes, the two got increasingly more frantic. They had checked the entire house top to bottom, attic and basement included.

"Oh oh god, oh god she ran away." he whimpered. "The kid was so sad she ran away and it's all our fault - mostly Conductor's - and a cat is gonna eat her."

"She didn't run away! Her stuff is still here!" Cookie sighed.

The young man pulled his phone from how pocket. "I'm calling Grooves."

* * *

Grooves and Conductor had a peaceful transit to their temporary filming set. They were filming here for their movies, then heading back home. That was the plan anyway.

"God I hate this rain." Conductor grumbled. He and Grooves were standing under a tent roof to shield paperwork and props from the rain.

"Where you see dreary, I see opportunity, darling!" Grooves sang, doing a small spin. "I'm not letting a little weather ruin my parade. In fact, it will improve it! The melodramatic scenes will be shot when it rains, and the happy scenes will be during clear skies."

"Good fer ye. Would ye like a trophy? OH WAIT!" the old director cackled, laughing at his rival's previous losses.

"I would, actually. And that's why I'm going to win this-" Grooves paused, pulling his phone out if his pocket. "Hello?...yes...What?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S GONE?!"

Conductor tried to snatch the phone away. "Who's gone?! The little lass?! GROOVES!?"

The DJ leaned away from the phone. "Cookie and Snatcher can't find the little diva. They want to know if we've seen her."

Now, the loud shouting had awoken the small borrower hidden away in Conductor's pocket. She yawned quietly, but made sure not to move so much as to not be caught. Seems as though Snatcher and Cookie had already discovered her absence…

Conductor sighed. "...do ye think she planned this?"

"Darling, what on _earth_ are you talking about?!"

"Ye know! Maybe she planned this from the start. Wiggle her way in, gain our trust, then vanish once she got what she wanted!"

Hat Kid felt her cheeks go hot, and tears sting her eyes. She would never say that! She would never do that! How could he even think about that?!

"Conductor. How _dare_ you imply that little girl would deceive us in that manner." Grooves hissed. He turned back to the phone. "No, no Snatcher I don't think she's here. Check our shoes? Our pockets?"

"I'm just sayin, some people would do that! What makes her so different?!" he growled, absentmindedly placing his hands in his pockets. His eyes went wide, as his fingers slowly curled around her.

Slowly, silently, he lifted the crying girl out of his pocket, and in view of Grooves.

DJ Grooves' jaw dropped, glancing at the girl with tears streaming down her face, then back at Conductor, who was growing paler by the second.

"...Snatcher? We found her. She had...crawled into a pocket, yeah. We'll be home soon." he hung up, then turned to the other director. "Oh darling...you are _so dead_."

* * *

Conductor silently paced around the table under the tent, with Grooves making a phone call about having to go home for a couple hours.

Hat Kid sat at the table, back turned to Conductor. She was ignoring him, and she knew the silence was killing him.

" _Good."_ she thought to herself. _"I'll show him."_

Hat Kid's adventure wasn't over yet. There was a tent a few feet away, loaded with snacks and sweets. She had missed breakfast, and she could feel her stomach start to grumble.

Quick pit stop. Quick snack stop.

Making sure that Conductor and Grooves weren't looking, she dashed to the edge of the table and started climbing down.

It was hard to run in the rain and wet grass, seeming like a thick jungle to her. Behind her she could hear Conductor and Grooves question where she had gone, but she shrugged it off. Besides, she was just using them apparently. Stupid Conductor.

She reached the other table, and paused to catch her breath before climbing up.

So many snack options! Grapes and candy and sugar cubes, and other foods she had only heard of in stories. Like donuts!

Her eyes were drawn to a cup full of candy. Hat Kid huffed, trying to maneuver a wrapped lollipop from a cup. But living with beans had made her brave, and she had forgotten to check her surroundings.

"Hello...er, tiny child." came a voice above her. Low, and soft. She froze in fear, slowly looking up at the bean.

He was tall and gangly, with wide eyes, greasy hair and a thin face. He had a grey trench coat and hat that looked too big for him. He had the smallest of smiles on his face. "Do you require assistance?"

Hat Kid used her greatest defense weapon. She started crying.

The young man seemed concerned by her crying; reaching into the cup, unwrapping a lollipop, and handing it to her. "Do not cry, tiny child." he said, voice low and soft. "You wanted this?"

Hat Kid sniffled, her cries softening. Hesitating, she took the candy and asked, "Why are you being so nice to me?"

He gave her a small smile. "Why wouldn't I be nice to you? You are someone who needed assistance. And I was there to help. Besides, I would never hurt anyone! It's not in my nature."

"Oh. Thank you." she said, wiping the tears from her face. All her life she had been told that Human Beans would cause nothing but hardships...but was that true? "I'm Hat Kid."

"You may refer to me as...Crowley."

Out of nowhere, a fold up chair flew through the air, hitting her newfound friend squarely in the nose. He yelped in pain, landing on the ground and groaning. Hat Kid gasped, peeking over the edge to see the man curled up in a ball, covering his face.

Conductor stomped forward. "There ye are! Gave me and Grooves heart attacks!"

Breaking her silent treatment, she glared at the older bean. "You hurt him!" she squeaked angrily, pointing to Crowley.

"Ooh, what?! I was doing it to protect ye!" Conductor was secretly very happy she was talking to him again, and hoped his little…'accusation' wouldn't be brought up again. He reached out to pick her up, but she hopped out of the way.

"Not until you help him!" she demanded, crossing her arms and turning away from him with an angry huff.

The angry bean snarled, clearly not happy with the situation. He just wanted to take _-his granddaughter-_ the small being back home. But now he had an injured actor to deal with, and a very irritated little girl.

Sighing, he turned to the man on the wet grass. "Alright, laddie, get up." he grabbed Crowley's hand, hoisting him up. "It's not that bad!"

Crowley sniffled, trying to stop the nasty nose bleed he had gotten from having a metal chair thrown at him. He wiped his nose, and his eyes. "Y-Yes boss."

"Are...are you crying?! Cut it out!" Conductor scolded. "Yer not five!"

The young man sniffled again, whimpering as tears rolling down his cheeks. It made the young girl's heart ache. "CONDUCTOR!" she squealed. "YOU'RE...YOU'RE A BUTTHEAD!"

"Lass! Keep quiet!" he hissed, trying to shush her. "We don't need anyone else to know about ye!"

"Fix him! His nose!" she demanded.

Throwing his hands up in the air, Conductor stomped away to get medical supplies. Crowley sniffled, sitting on the table and trying not to cry. "That...was very painful."

She looked around, looking for something to cheer up her friend. Her eyes fell on the candy in her hands. "Would you like a lollipop?"

Crowley looked at her, blood dripping off his chin and tears running down his cheeks. But he couldn't help but smile softly. "...thank you, small girl." he took it from her hands, placing it in his mouth. "It has been a while since I have eaten candy. Thank you."

"No problem! I'm really sorry about Conductor...he's a poopface." she crossed her arms angrily.

"I am aware of his irritability. He is my boss. I...do not like my job very much." he sighed.

Conductor returned, mumbling angrily to himself. "Here, I got ye some bandages. Lemme see." Crowley whined slightly as his boss looked at his nose. "Ah! Just a broken nose. Don't worry, laddie. I'll fix this right up-" with a quick flick of his wrist, Conductor twisted the man's nose back into place.

Crowley screamed in pain, pulling away. "I don't think that was medically accurate!"

"Oh pipe down." the old man growled, wrapping the younger man's nose in wrappings. "Yer fine! Here, take this for the blood." Crowley took the handkerchief, placing it under his nose.

"There! Happy now, lass?" Conductor sighed. "Grooves is waiting for us with a car to take ye home-"

"No. Not unless he comes too." Hat Kid pointed at Crowley. "He needs to see Cookie for medical help. Not _you_!"

"Who, me?" Crowley asked quietly, glancing between the two.

" **Lassie."** Conductor snarled through gritted teeth. "Ye are being unreasonable-"

"Then leave me here!" she snapped, feeling tears well in her eyes again. "Clearly you don't trust me! So just leave me here, then! Leave me here to wiggle into someone else's life!"

The old man's shoulder slumped in a defeated manner. "...fine."

"I-I still have no idea what is happening here." Crowley said quietly, then squawked as Conductor grabbed his arm.

"The lass wants to take ye to get yer nose fixed." he explained, scooping up the furious young child against her will.

The old man dragged/carried the two over to where Grooves was waiting. "Who is he?" the DJ asked.

"I'll explain in the car. I got the lass." Conductor wheezed. Today was unexpectedly emotionally exhausting, and he was tempted to call off filming today.

Grooves turned to Crowley. "Pleasure to meet you, darling! I'm guessing you've met our little diva."

"Why yes, I have. She's certainly...interesting-" he was cut off as Conductor shoved him into the back, handing him Hat Kid to hold.

Slamming the door, Grooves asked, "What did you do in the ten minutes she was gone?!" he hissed.

"I maaaay have broken the Lad's nose. And the lass is attached to him, and he needs _medical attention_ , apparently." he said the last sentence in a mocking tone. "Because I don't know how to set a broken nose, I guess."

"So we're taking him to a hospital?"

"No, no. We're taking him to the apartment with the lass. It was the only way I could get her to come back. Besides, Cookie studied as a nurse, didn't she?"

Before his rival could object, he said quickly. "Look, I know this is crazy. But the lass already hates me. I don't want her to loathe me entirely. I like her! She - she makes me happy...I don't want to lose her like me wife."

Grooves was silent, an unhappy expression on his face. "...you're driving then."

* * *

The car ride was much longer than it seemed. Conductor was sitting stiffly in the driver's seat, Grooves in the passenger seat; the two were silent. Crowley and Hat Kid were talking quietly in the backseat, being the only source of noise.

The young man was trying to explain a joke to her, about blueprints and owls. She didn't quite get it, and the silence from the front seat showed they didn't understand either.

Pulling up to the house, Crowley marveled at the structure. "It's impressive!" he turned to the small girl in his lap. "Still don't quite understand why I'm here-"

"Because you need help for your nose!" she squeaked. "And I want my new friend to meet my other friends!"

His face lit up. "We're friends?"

"Sure are!"

"Alright. Everyone out!" Conductor announced, opening the doors. Crowley stepped out, cradling the small girl in his hands.

Cookie rushed out to greet them, tackling Conductor in a hug. "We were so worried!" she squealed, giving the old man a kiss on the cheek. He blushed, stuttering quietly to himself. Cookie then turned to Grooves, giving him a hug and kiss on the cheek as well.

She turned to Crowley. "Oh! Who's this!"

"Conductor broke his nose! Because he's a BIG BUTTHEAD!" Hat Kid indignantly shouted from Crowley's hands.

"He WHAT!?" the woman grabbed Crowley's arm, gently dragging him inside. "You poor baby! We're gonna need some pain medicine, and bandages, and and and-" she rambled on, leading the young man to sit on the couch.

His eyes were wide, confused. But Hat Kid assured him that Cookie was one of the nicest, sweetest people she knew. Cookie returned shortly, with the medicine bag. "Now, tell me everything."

"Well, I went to the craft table for a drink of water." he said quietly as she gently inspected his nose. "And there was this tiny girl! And she started crying, so I assisted her with retrieving her candy...and then Conductor threw a chair at me."

"HE DID WHAT?!" she shouted, angrily throwing an empty pill bottle at him. "WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!"

"I thought he'd hurt her!" he shouted back. "I was just protecting the lassie! I'm going ta bed." he stormed away, hearing his apartment door slam shut.

"And...I was in Conductor's pocket. He said.." Hat Kid felt tears well in her eyes. "He said I was using you! I was gaining your trust, and then I'd leave!"

"No..No!" she scolded, reapplying bandages to Crowley's nose. "He wouldn't!-"

"He did, darling." Grooves interrupted. "I was there. I was _mortified_ by what he was saying."

Cookie was silent for a moment. "I'm gonna kill him."

Once Crowley had been properly patched up, Cookie had given him all the candy in the house and told him to visit any time in case he needed a warm meal and bed. He practically burst into tears, hugging her tight.

He bid farewell to his small friend, and Grooves offered to drive him home. Once he was gone, Snatcher burst from the attic. "WHERE IS CONDUCTOR?! WHERE IS HE I'LL KILL HIM!

"He's asleep, darling." Grooves sighed.

"That's a shitty excuse." the young man snarled. "I can pick locks, I can go in there in a snap." he snapped his fingers for emphasis.

"As much as I want _to strangle him_ … " Cookie hissed, stirring the thick stew she was making. "It's not the best way to go about this."

"He already feels incredibly guilty." the DJ explained. "I'm sure he'll apologize...soon. And in the end, it's about what we want." he glanced upwards. "It's what the little diva wants."

"Poor kid." Snatcher sighed, sitting down at the table. "She came upstairs and practically passed out in her bed. Hey Cookie, how much longer? I'm starved."

"...Hi starved! I'm Cookie! Nice to meet you!" she giggled. He groaned loudly in response, laying his head on the table.

"Everyone's a comedian."


	7. The Girl Next Door

Despite the seeming failure of Hat Kid's adventure, it did help get her mind off her Borrower Family. She was more focused on seeing how long she could give Conductor the silent treatment.

She made herself busy with her crafts and friends. Realizing that she had _not_ made little finger puppet creations for Cookie and Grooves, she got to work.

She made Cookie a little orange cat puppet, and she made Grooves a penguin. She made sure that the cat had Cookie's chef outfit and the penguin had Grooves' afro. They had to match, after all!

Hiding them away, she crawled to the window and looked outside. It was raining today, drizzling softly, the sun was clouded out of view. She glanced at her leg. It had healed nicely, and it barely hurt anymore.

Maybe she should give the front garden a try.

"Snaaaatcher!" she called out, glancing behind her.

"Kid I'm literally right here." he replied from his cot. "What's up?"

"I wanna play in the garden!" she smiled, standing up and brushing off her dress.

Snatcher laughed nervously. "Kid, did you hit your head or somethin? Last time you went outside, you almost died."

"Well, I was hoping that I'd be in the front garden today...and, maybe you'd watch me?"

He frowned, tilting his head slightly. "Well, I'm not doing much right now...it's raining though. Won't you get wet?"

"I'm OK with the rain! I can hide in the weeds!" she explained. "C'mooooon, please?"

Snatcher sighed, closing his laptop. "Let's go."

* * *

Hat Kid sang an imaginary song as she splished and splashed in large puddles. Her feet and legs were soaked, but it was a noble sacrifice in the name of fun. Small puddles were giant to her, after all.

Taking a break in the shelter of a dandelion, she glanced up at Snatcher. Sitting on the front step, umbrella in one hand and (what she later learned was called a) phone in the other. Noticing her, he smiled and waved.

Happy with his response, she smiled back and ran to splash in more puddles. They weren't gonna splash themselves!

"Don't get sick, kiddo." he mumbled. "I'm bad enough at taking care of you now, I shudder to think about how we'd take care of you if you had the flu."

"I'm tough! I'll be fine!" she exclaimed as she launched herself into a puddle. "Borrowers don't get sick!"

"Hmm." he stood up. "I need to take this call. Can you do me a favor, and not die for ten minutes?"

"Yoooou got it!" she replied, hopping up and down in the puddles. She could hear him start to enter the house, talking to someone on the phone.

It was just ten minutes. How bad could it be?

Hat Kid found herself drifting farther from the house in her search for puddles. She hadn't even noticed until she reached the bushes that were on the border of the garden and the vast amount of trees.

She was about to turn around to go back to the house, but something stopped her. A soft rustling sound, and the steps of little feet. Looking back, Hat Kid swore she saw a flash of a green coat and a blue bow, and purple eyes looking at her through the leaves.

Her eyes went wide. "Bow?"

Bow gasped quietly, starting to step out of the bush and reach a hand out for Hat Kid.

But before either of the two Borrower children could react, a hand swooped in from out of nowhere and snatched Hat Kid up. "OH. MY. GOSH!" came a young voice. Hat Kid squeaked as the grip around them tightened. Her signature hat fluttered to the ground. "You're teeny! You're a teeny little poppet!"

It was the child bean in a red hood. She had long blonde hair tied with blue beads, and...a yellow mustache? Her gold eyes sparkled at the sight of her, as she reached into a pocket. She pulled out an item feared by all Borrowers. A glass jar.

The Child Bean dropped Hat Kid inside, peering inside excitedly. "Don't worry! I rescued you!"

Hat Kid wanted to scream. She wasn't in danger! She didn't need to be saved! This was the exact kind of Human Bean that everyone had warned her about. The type of Bean to snatch up a Borrower, only for the Borrower to never be seen again.

In the face of all of this, Hat Kid could only squeak.

The Mustached Girl smiled, holding the jar close to her chest and running back to her house across the street.

The Borrower's fate was sealed.

* * *

In contrast to the nice, warm house that her Beans lived in, this new house was cold and dark. The walls were stained and had questionable scratches. Hat Kid whimpered, pressing herself against one of the walls. Thank God there were holes in the lid.

The Mustached Girl tiptoed inside. Before she could run upstairs, there was a booming voice from the kitchen. "HEY! BRAT! I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO STAY INSIDE!" Masculine. Gruff. Hint of a strange accent. _Scary._

"WHATEVER!" she shouted back, running upstairs before the owner of the voice could investigate. "Stupid Uncle." she grumbled to herself as she made a beeline to her room, the door covered with _'do not enter signs'_.

Kicking open the door, then slamming it shut, the Child Bean placed the jar on her desk. Hat Kid fearfully pressed her back to the other side of the glass as the Mustached Girl stared at the inside. "...wow! I must be dreaming! You are real, right?"

The small girl slowly nodded. Being nice had worked in her favor before, it wouldn't hurt to try.

The young Bean began to pace, excitedly talking to herself. "This is amazing! No, incredible! Wait wait!" She rushed over, picking up the jar. "This is the most wonderful, stupendous thing ever!"

"D-Don't shake me around!" Hat Kid squeaked. She swore she felt her brain rattle around!

The child gasped, pressing her nose against the jar. "YOU CAN TALK! AND YOU CAN UNDERSTAND ME!"

"P-Please don't yell lik-like that." she whispered. Due to their large size, Beans had very loud voices. Thankfully, her Beans had caught on quick, keeping their voices low when she was on their shoulders or the like. (Conductor was still a bit too loud for her tastes, though.)

"Sorry! Sorry sorry!" she excitedly whispered. "I'm Mu! I saved you! And I'll take good care of you-"

"You didn't! You kidnapped me!" Hat Kid squeaked, stomping in her glass prison.

Mu looked surprised, but then she looked angry. "Excuse me?! I SAVED you! Who knows what could have happened out there! If it weren't for me, some other person would've picked you up, or a cat could have eaten you! I'm a good person! I'm a good guy!"

"Then let me go!"

"No way!" Mu placed the jar on the desk, a little rougher than the Borrower liked. "If I let you back out there you'll die! I'm protecting you! Whether you want it, or NOT!"

* * *

Snatcher sighed in relief. That phone call was slightly longer than he wanted it to be. But it was done. "Alright kid, sorry about that-"

Where was his Borrower?

He put his phone in his pocket, and started to look around. Taking care to look where he stepped as to not accidentally squish the little thing. "Kid? Where'd you go?"

Looking over at the bushes, he saw something purple. Heart sinking into the pit of his stomach, Snatcher quickly made his way over to see a tiny, crumpled, soaking purple top hat. He gingerly picked it up between his fingernails, looking around and calling out, "Kid?! Where'd you go?!"

"That hat...isn't yours." came a quiet voice from the bushes.

He leaned over, trying to look inside. "Who are you? You don't sound like the kid?"

Silence.

He sat down, trying to seem as small as he could. Ignoring the wet grass and puddles, he got as comfortable as he could before replying to the bushes again. "Are you another Borrower? I won't hurt you. I know that Human Beans - yes, I know we're called Beans - I know that Human Beans could hurt you. But I promise I'm not! I just wanna know where the Kid is. Hat Kid? You seem to know her, is she a friend?"

"We were more than friends." Before he could continue talking, a small figure stepped out of the bushes. She had darker skin, bright purple eyes, a green jacket and a big blue bow in her black, curly hair. She looked at him, large, goopy tears streaming down her face. "We were sisters."

She wiped her eyes, and looked determined. "And I know where she is."

* * *

"Whether you want it, or NOT!"

The front doorbell rang, echoing throughout the house. Hat Kid saw Mu visibly stiffen, eyes darting to the door. "...stay here."

As quietly as she could, the Child Bean ran to the door and left the room.

 _Stay here, no way!_

Hat Kid immediately began to look for a way out, trying to climb the glass walls around her. Too steep to scale up, especially since she didn't have her Borrowing Tools. She really used her tools nowadays to help her scale around in the crawl space in the house.

If she couldn't climb up, maybe she could knock the glass over! She slammed her shoulder into the side, rocking it slightly. That was it! Just keep at it.

But before she could do anything else, thunderous shouting erupted from downstairs. It was even louder than Conductor! A man with a thick accent yelling at Mu, it sounded like. Something about being a thief?

After a few moments, the yelling ceased. There was loud stomping, then Mu burst into the room. She looked absolutely furious, but she was...crying? Angry tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Are you OK?" Hat Kid asked, feeling sympathy in her chest. "Why are you crying."

"Y-Your friend came...saying you were a toy. Tall bloke." Mu sniffled. "A-And my uncle called me a bitch and a thief."

"That's awful! He shouldn't do that!" Hat Kid shouted.

"...whatever." Mu said quietly, wiping her cheeks. "At least he didn't hit me."

The Borrower felt anger. An anger she hadn't felt before. "He...he shouldn't do that! No parental figure should do that!" she pressed her face against the glass. "Come to my house with Snatcher. Please."

The girl slowly nodded. "Pretend to be a toy."

The two slowly made it downstairs, Mu stiff and fearful. Hat Kid managed a glance at the large man standing next to the doorway. Short and Stocky, with a big mustache and a permanent sneer. She wanted to punch him.

She saw Snatcher's hands gently encase the glass jar, pulling it close to his chest. "I apologize for the mix-up. I'll be on my way-"

"Wait!" Mu cried out. "I-I should come over! Do some housework as a-a-an apology to you!"

Snatcher glanced down at the little Borrower in the jar. She winked at him, and he looked back at Mu with a shrug. "Alright, kiddo. Your funeral. You don't mind, do ya?" he asked the Uncle.

The Uncle practically shoved his niece closer to the door. "You take brat. Make her back ache from work. Make her suffer for her crimes!"

Snatcher nodded, a little unsure how to respond. "...sure. C'mon, blondie."

Snatcher and Mu walked back home in silence, and once they were inside the apartments, he let out a big sigh of relief. "I'm so glad you're safe, kiddo." he said, opening the top of the jar and letting Hat Kid crawl out into his hand.

He looked back at Mu, who had awkwardly stood in the doorway. "And you...you shouldn't kidnap tiny people. But...I have to admit I'm a little concerned." he gestured back to her house. "Does...he always talk to you like that?"

Mu nodded wordlessly. Snatcher sighed. "Have a seat, kiddo." She nodded, sitting down at the table. "So...your Uncle."

She threw her hands up in the air in a gesture of exasperation. "I know! I hate him! He smells, he and his friends drink all night and I have to pick up the broken glass, he calls me horrible names, and he hits way too hard!" she shouted, sinking into her chair. "What about him?"

Snatcher was quiet for a moment, then pulled out his phone. "...yes..911? I'd like to report a case of child abuse and endangerment."

* * *

Snatcher sat on the front porch, legs crossed as he watched a police man shove Mu's Uncle into a cop car. He wasn't normally a big fan of the Police, but he did have to pat them on the back today.

"WHA' DID YE DO NOW?!"

He turned, lazily almost, to see the other members of the house walking up to the front steps. "Not me this time, old man." he flashed a sly grin, but it quickly faded. He looked to an ambulance nearby. A lovely policewoman had taken Mu off to the side to ask her questions. "...the kid's guardian abused her. Hit her. Called her a bitch _right in front of me._ So I called the cops."

Grooves' was shocked into silence, stuttering quietly as Conductor flew into an angry rage, cursing the Uncle's name in vain. CC sat on the steps next to him. "Wow, Snatcher! How'd you find out?"

"...the girl over there. Blondie?" he said, gesturing to Mu. "...she took the kid. When I went to get her back, the Uncle called her a bitch. I questioned her further at the house and she spilled everything."

"Oh...poor thing! I wish I could just...scoop her up into a hug!" CC, unable to hold and comfort Mu, leaned against Snatcher and held his arm.

"Where is the lass?!" Conductor hissed, trying to whisper but being too angry to. "Is she safe?!"

"Relax, old man! This isn't my first rodeo!" he gestured behind him. "She's inside. I gave her some cake."

The four turned their attention to a nice looking woman walking up. "You are the one to call, yes? I work with CPS." she asked, gesturing at Snatcher. "A Mister Vin-"

"Name isn't important right now. How is she?"

"Well, she's doing much better." the CPS worker sighed. "Poor thing. We're gonna need to find her a new home-"

"I'll take her!" CC jumped up, a fire in her eyes. "I absolutely _hate_ the fact that I was completely unaware of her suffering all this time! I want to make it up to her!"

The woman looked surprised. "Oh! Well, there's paperwork that must be done, you would need to take a parenting class, we'd need to check the house-"

"I'll do it! All of us will!"

"We are?" the other three asked, but a glare from Cookie made them fall silent.

The CPS agent pulled out several papers and a business card. "Here's my card. We can go over the info over the phone. Keep in touch."

CC grinned as she looked at the papers. "I'm gonna look at these right away!" she cheered, dashing inside.

"...did we just adopt a kid?" Grooves asked the two remaining.

"Sounds like we did. I'm gonna check on the kid." the young man replied, standing up and heading inside.

Hat Kid was eating a bit of pound cake on the counter, feeling very happy with herself. But once she saw Snatcher, she hastily swallowed her bite and asked, "HEY! How did you know where to find me?!"

"OH THAT'S RIGHT!" he cried out. "I was looking for you, and I found ANOTHER BORROWER! She told me Mu took you! She said you were sisters! I tried to lure her out, but she wouldn't."

The little girl gasped. _"THAT'S BOW!_ She's still alive!"


	8. Two is Better Than One

Before Hat Kid could do anything about Bow, they had to wait for the police to leave. But they were taking so long! It was like they'd never leave!

By the time they finally _did_ leave, the rain was heavier than ever, and it was starting to get dark. They had to find Bow!

"C'mon, Snatcher!" she insisted, tugging on his vest from a kitchen counter. "We gotta find her before she drowns! Or worse!"

"I don't think there's much worse than drowning-" he started to say, but the grim looks that the others were shooting at him made him shut up pretty quick. "R-Right. Are the police still out there, old man?"

Conductor peeked out the window, grumbling to himself about being called 'old'. "Hold on, Laddie. There's still a car out there."

Hat Kid hopped up and down anxiously. "But we gotta save her!"

"Keep yer hats on! They're leavin...they're leavin… and they're gone!"

Scooping up the tiny girl, Snatcher remarked, "That's our cue. C'mon, kiddo, before it gets _really_ bad out there."

Unfortunately, it was a little too late for that. The rain had turned into sleet and snow and their breaths were caught by the cold, turning them into puffs of mist. Hat Kid shivered, pressing her tiny form closer to her large friend for warmth.

"Well, this sucks." he hissed, also shivering slightly. His vest and thin shirt did nothing for the cold.

"Where was she?!" she insisted, bouncing up and down.

Kneeling down by the bush, he gently set her down. "Right here. Go look around, will ya? And don't die!"

Hat Kid was gone. As soon as she was able to, she darted off into the bush to search for her friend. "Bow!" she called out. "Bow! Bow it's me! Where are you?!"

"...h...ha.."

Blood running cold, and not from the freezing temperatures, she tried to follow the raspy breathing. "BOW! Bow! I'm here!" she cried.

"Kiddo? What's going on?" Snatcher sounded farther away than before, but Hat Kid wasn't focused on that.

"...ha...hat?"

At the very bottom of the bush, lying in a dirty, half frozen puddle, was Bow. Her outfit stained with muck, her face thin and tired looking, signature bow droopy. Clearly she hadn't been having a good time on her own.

Hat Kid leapt down, starting to drag her sister out. "D-Don't worry! I have help! We'll get you inside and warm, and fed-"

"You...you talked to Beans…" Bow coughed, looking up at her angrily. "That's not allowed…"

"So what?!" Hat Kid snapped back. "It doesn't matter! Beans can be super nice! And what's important is that they're my friends! And they're going to help you!"

Grunting, Hat Kid dragged and carried her adopted sister from the bush. Snatcher hovered over in a concerned gesture. "My god, she looks like shit." he reached out to pick the two up, but Bow started loudly coughing and trying to struggle.

"Don't touch me! I know what you do to Borrowers!" she tried to sound threatening, but was so sick and tired that it had no real impact.

"Bow, this is Snatcher! He's super nice." the hatted Borrower explained. "No one will hurt you. I promise. You've gotta trust me."

Bow sniffled, starting to cry. "I-I'm scared...Hattie...I'm so scared!" she wailed, holding tightly to the purple dress.

"I know! It's OK! He's kinda scary."

"Hey!"

"But he's very nice! Everyone is! Look at me." Hat Kid knelt down to Bow's level, smiling. "I'm right here."

Slowly, Bow nodded.

Getting permission to do so, Snatcher very gently picked up the two girls. "Aw, kid!" he shuddered, shifting Bow in his hand. "You're freezing! And you're soaking wet! You want Pneumonia? Let's get you inside. CC will know what to do…"

* * *

Snatcher burst through the doors to the house, a big grin on his face. "Guess what's better than _one_ Borrower?!" before his concerned roommates could reply, he showed them the two girls in his cupped hands. _"TWO_ Borrowers!"

CC quickly made her way over to check up on the two. "Snatcher! This one looks very sick!"

"C'mon, that was funny though-"

"Not the time. C'mere sweetie!" CC tried to sweetly urge Bow into her own hands, but Bow instead shuffled closer to Hat Kid.

"Bow," Hat Kid smiled, gently rubbing Bow's back. "This is Cookie! She'll help you feel better!"

"...Cookie?" Bow muttered, before being hit with a sneezing fit. It was this fit that allowed CC to hold her. Bow had weakly made motions for CC to pick her up in a hug, sniffling and close to tears. She gladly picked up the sick Borrower, holding Bow close to her chest.

"This girl needs some soup, and a nice warm blanket! Conductor, place the 'Nice Blanket' in the dryer for a few minutes, and Grooves, get out the cans of chicken noodle soup!"

Hat Kid had clambered up to Snatcher's shoulder. "Do you think Bow will be OK?" she whimpered, wrapping herself in his hair.

"Kid, CC can fix anything. She fixed your leg, didn't she? I'm sure a cold will be a snap!" he chuckled.

Once the so called 'nice blanket' was warm, Bow was wrapped up in a little blanket burrito. Bow had sniffled and cried the entire time, demanding why everyone was being so nice to her.

"Because, lass." Conductor had replied, voice soft as he wrapped the blanket around her. "Ye need help. And yer a friend of the wee hat lass. Any friend o' hers, is a friend o' mine. And even if ye weren't, I wouldn't let ye die in the cold like tha'."

Hat Kid had sat next to Bow, comforting and reassuring her at every moment she could.

"I hate having to use these cheater soups!" CC grumbled, stirring the pot of chicken noodle soup.

"...you mean the cans, darling?"

"Yeah! Cheater soup." tapping the spoon, she ladled the soup into a bowl and made her way to Bow. "Hi sweetie! I have some soup for you! It's chicken noodle." she had a small spoon with her, and offered the sick girl a sip.

Bow whimpered, and Hat Kid stepped forward. "If I have a sip, will that make you feel better?" she offered. "I'm 100% positive it'll be delicious!"

"I...I'll just have a sip." the sick Borrower insisted. Slowly, they were gaining her trust.

Smiling warmly, CC helped the new addition to the house have some warm soup. Because she was so small, she only had a few small spoonfuls before sleepily burying herself deeper into the blankets.

"Poor tired thing." CC sighed.

Conductor had experience with sick children, more than the others anyway. So he offered his advice. "Wee ones need rest. Although, I don't think we should move her. But we gotta keep close to make sure her flu don't turn into somethin' worse."

"Sleepover!" Hat Kid cheered. "Sleepover with Bow!"

"I can sleep on the couch to make sure nothing happens." Snatcher offered with a grin. "Besides. I'm sure sleeping on the couch would probably ruin your back, _old timer_."

"I'm not tha' old!" Conductor huffed, working hard to keep his voice low around the sleepy little girls.

"Well I mean, you don't look a day over a hundred!"

"LADDIE-"

Grooves stepped between the two. "Both of you, enough!" he hissed. "Conductor, we have filming tomorrow, and Snatcher already offered to watch them. There. Done deal."

The tension settled, CC, Conductor and Grooves went to bed. Snatcher had waved them off, but once they were in their rooms did his oh-so-innocent grin turn more devilish.

"Soooo. Kid." he said, turning to Hat Kid. "You wanna eat junk food until we get sick and stay up too late?"

"Yeah! Yeah yeah yeah!" she cheered quietly to not wake up her sister.

Barely an hour later, Snatcher chuckled to himself as he came across Hat Kid sprawled on a couch pillow, snoring quietly as she drooled on it. So much for 'eating junk food and staying up too late' for her. A couple bites of a Pop-Tart had knocked her out.

Scooping up the pillow, he set it next to the blanket burrito holding Bow. Two little Borrowers, cuddled up on pillows and blankets. "You two, are gonna give me cavities." he muttered under his breath.

Now he had two little Borrowers to give him regular heart attacks. But it was worth it. Just one had brought so much joy into his life. Two should double that! That was how the math worked, right?

Math had never been his best subject.

Sighing, he dug through the fridge for a package of bacon as a midnight snack. The past week or so had been strange, and part of him still couldn't believe it.

Hearing one of the girls start to whimper, Snatcher abandoned his midnight snack to check on them. The new one had started to squirm and whine softly. "Hey, hey." he purred, fluffing up her blanket to be more comfortable. "You're fine. You're safe."

She sighed, sinking deeper into her blankets. He smiled. "We'll take care of you, kiddo. Don't you worry about a thing."

* * *

When Bow woke up the next morning, she was still in her blanket burrito. At first, she was incredibly frightened, being so out in the open like this. But as she glanced over to see Hat Kid sleeping nearby so peacefully, she started to relax.

Her adoptive sister had said that these Human Beans were safe, and kind. And even though it went against everything that she had been taught, Bow was starting to believe that.

Without asking for anything in return, they had taken her in, gave her a nice place to sleep, warm soup, and made sure she was comfortable and felt safe.

Could all the stories about Human Beans….be wrong?


	9. The Inspection

Snatcher hadn't slept a wink last night. Constantly waking up from horrible nightmares about death and dying certainly put a damper on the sleep experience. But he especially didn't like how prevalent his little Borrower friend was becoming in his dreams. Dying in a dream was bad enough. But watching a close friend die in a dream and being helpless to stop it? Torture.

So he had gotten a blanket, an entire pot of coffee, and settled in for yet another night of watching bad lawyer dramas, snickering at how badly lawyers were portrayed. Every now and then he checked the sleeping girls on the counter nearby.

When the sun began to rise, a door opened. CC quickly rushed out in her pajamas, checking on the girls before turning to Snatcher. "You're up early! You'd sleep in 'till noon if you could!" she teased, before growing sympathetic. "...More nightmares?"

"Bingo." he said in a tired tone before chugging a cup of coffee. "They're getting worse. If they keep getting worse I'm tempted to go to the doctor."

"Why not now?"

He sneered. "Doctors are expensive."

CC gave a sad smile, ruffling his hair. "I can't force you, sweetheart. Did anythin' happen durin' the night?"

"Hat Kid fell asleep shortly after you all did." Snatcher recalled. "And the new one made some noises, but whenever she did I'd comfort her."

Cookie sighed in relief, then kissed his cheek. "I can't thank you enough, Snatcher." In a childish manner, he immediately tried to wipe it away and stuck his tongue out in protest.

"You can thank me by making me more coffee." he said with a yawn. "Mix energy drinks into it. Please."

"I...don't think that's healthy."

He looked at her blankly. "Do I look like the kind of person to care about how healthy my food is?"

Cookie frowned as she went to get him some more coffee. "You may not care about your well-being, but I do."

"A terrible choice to make."

* * *

Bow wiggled her nose and sneezed as she woke up. She sighed, recalling the night before and wiggling deeper into the nice, warm blankets she was practically swaddled in.

She could hear Hat Kid snoring nearby, and someone humming. One of the Human Beans was in the kitchen, cooking something that smelled very good. Another one sat at the table; the tall one. Snatcher, was it?

Noticing that she was awake, he grinned at her. Bow cowered, not liking how wide his smile was, nor the sharp teeth he possessed. Realizing he was scaring her, his grin grew smaller, more sheepish.

Another Bean whacked Snatcher on the back of the head. "Can't ye see yer scaring her, spook?!" Conductor hissed, then turned to Bow. "Don' worry, lass. He won't hurt ye!"

Bow's immediate response was to start crying. Both of these large Beans were scary, and loud, and her teeth were much too sharp for her. Conductor's smile fell and his shoulder's slumped. Snatcher started cackling. "Looks like you're not much better in the comforting department! HA!"

Then the two started bickering. One of their favorite pastimes; the two could argue on and on for hours if left unchecked. And their fighting only scared Bow more, but it did wake up Hat Kid.

The little hatted girl yawned, stretching and rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes. "Good morning!" she said, but the rest of her greeting was cut off by Bow tackling her in a hug. "Morning Bow! How are you feeling? Any better?"

"T-They're loud." Bow stuttered, trying to hide her face. "And-and-and scary."

"They're more bark than bite." Hat Kid assured. "Snatcher is super funny, and Conductor is really a big ol softie!"

"Yeah old man," Snatcher mocked. He made good of his namesake and snatched Conductor's hat off his head. "You're a _big softie."_

The old man growled, starting to remove his suit jacket. "I maaaay have a soft spot for the lasses," in his suit jacket pocket was a _knife._ He grinned. "But you? Not so much, laddie. Give. My. Hat. Back."

Snatcher was silent, signature grin quickly fading from his face. He then handed Conductor his hat back.

"Thank ye kindly, laddie. Glad to see all the caffeine ye drink hasn't completely rotten away yer brain!" the old bean set his jacket on the back of a chair, pulling out a box of cigarettes. "I'll be out for a few. Don't touch me things."

Snatcher glared at him as he walked outside. "...asshole." he muttered darkly to himself.

As that entire interaction was happening, Bow and Hat Kid had climbed off the table and had scurried into the kitchen. Like little mice, they skitter and scurry up to the counters, weaving their way behind knick knacks scattered around. "This is the kitchen!" Hat Kid explained. "CC is in here a lot! She's in here now."

"Hello dears!" CC greeted. "You can call me cookie. I'm making scrambled eggs. Would either of you two want some?"

Bow, despite having lived of meager amounts of berries, nuts and other various items in the woods for weeks, still had some distrust towards the Human Beans. "No thank you, m'am." Bow muttered, bowing slightly.

"Are you sure, sweetie? I wouldn't want anyone going hungry in my house."

Bow looked at Hat Kid for reassurance, then nodded. "Well, I wouldn't mind a little bit…"

Hat Kid smiled. This was great! Everyone was getting along! And if Bow was alive and (mostly) well, then the rest of her family had to be too, right?

"Bow, can I ask a question?" she said quietly. "What happened after I fell off the boat?"

Bow was quiet, for a moment. "...after you fell over, Thor and Timmy dove in after you. Before they could resurface, the boat hit a log, and I fell out." she fiddled with her dress. "I remember waking up on the banks of the river the next morning."

"Do you think-"

Bow started sniffling, tearing up. "I-I don't know where they are, or if they're alive. I'm sorry!" she wailed, hiding her face in her hands. "I should've grabbed you! I should've done better!"

"Bow, Bow!" Hat Kid hugged her adoptive sister tight. "It's not your fault! There's nothing you could've done! But we have each other, and that's all that matters for now."

* * *

After breakfast was over, there was a loud, sharp knock at the door. Snatcher frowned. "Alright kiddos," he said quietly, picking up the two girls as CC went to answer the door. Bow whimpered, which broke Snatcher's heart, but he had to do it. "Gotta make yourself scarce."

He put the two by one of Hat Kid's usual holes in the wall. "Don't come out until we say."

CC opened the door to a very professional looking man in a suit. "Hello M'am. I'm Agent Mark, here with CPS to check your house and residents in ordinance with your submission of paperwork."

"Ah! Yes, yes, come in!" Cookie said warmly, leading in the man with a hand wave.

Snatcher leaned closer to Grooves. "He's doing _what_ in ordinance of _what?"_ he whispered. A lawyer he may be, but he mostly skimmed over child laws.

"He's here to check us and our house to make sure we can take care of the little blonde darling." Grooves whispered back. "CC filled out the paperwork online and submitted them in last night."

"She really wants to take in that little blighter, don't she?" Conductor muttered. "I can nae fault her for that."

"...oh shit, I gotta clean my attic-" Snatcher hissed, darting upstairs to clean up whatever strange doings he did up there.

"...Ye know I should really check me room too…"

"I-I-I think I left something in my room, darlings, I'll be right back…"

Bow and Hat watched from the walls as CC led the strange man inside. What happened if he found them? "What if-" Bow whispered. But Hat Kid shushed her gently.

"Here, this is a golden opportunity. We can follow them! And learn more about the Beans!"

Agent Mark frowned. "You appear to have small holes in your walls." he noted with a frown. "Is there any particular reason for that?"

"The house is old. We've simply grown used to them, and forgot to patch them up." Cookie said with a smile. She meant to patch them up ages ago, but since the addition of Hat Kid, they had decided not to. "We could patch them up-"

"That would be preferred." Agent Mark said quietly. "Let's move on."

Grooves' apartment was first. Spotless, with only one hole he had cleverly hidden with a small poster. "Greetings!" he posed for Agent Mark, almost appearing to glow. "You may call me Grooves, darling."

"Yes. Ms-"

Grooves looked nervous. "Uhm, it's Mister. Mister Dwayne." he took a more relaxed pose, although his shoulders were still stiff, and offered his hand to shake.

"Ah yes, Mr. Dwayne I apologize. Your records show you don't take drugs, and you've only been charged once, for public intoxication. But that was years ago. No records of violence towards children...you seem fine to have children around."

"You can search my apartment, I have nothing to hide." Behind his glasses, Grooves glanced at the little Borrower hole on his kitchen counter. "However, I have a film set to get too soon."

Hat Kid smiled. "Dwayne is a nice name. And this 'Mark Bean' says he's perfectly nice."

Bow frowned. "I dunno…."

Agent Mark moved to Conductor's room; barren and only had the bare necessities to live. He made no effort to hide the holes in the walls, some were there naturally, and the others he had accidentally punched in due to anger.

Conductor immediately took a defensive pose as Agent Mark entered. "Ah, Connor Gleeson?"

"Aye."

Agent Mark looked down at his notes, furrowing his brow. "You have records of public intoxication, drunken disorderly conduct, assault, assault and battery...you are a very violent man, Mr. Connor."

"Aye. But I'm a _good_ man." Conductor insisted. "Me family is good, and strong, and I'd do everything in me power to help with the wee lass."

"Well, your records also show your family considers you a good grandparent and father. We'll be keeping a close eye on you, Mr. Connor."

Bow and Hat Kid had been hiding in the walls during this entire interaction. "See? Beans can be dangerous! I don't know what assault and battery is, but it sounds bad! He attacked someone with batteries!" Bow squeaked fearfully.

"You don't know them like I do!" Hat Kid assured. "They'd never hurt us! C'mon, let's keep following them."

Snatcher was next, but Agent Mark was caught off guard. "I didn't expect him to be here today...you have quite the character in the attic, Miss Cookie."

Snatcher's attic was spotless. The desk was empty, there was a single blanket on his crappy bed, and the dollhouse was snapped shut. He sat on his bed, legs crossed and grinning like mad. "Alright Agent Know-It-All. Let's see what dirt you have on me."

"I certainly have info on you, _Vincent_." Agent Mark hissed. Snatcher's smile only grew. "You have a long list of petty crimes, but you've never faced a single day in jail. And somehow your last name is redacted?"

"Never doubt a lawyer." Snatcher retorted victoriously.

"Shoplifting, assault and battery, threats, jaywalking, disrupting the peace, public urination-"

"I didn't do that one. C'mon, Agent Muller! I have a touch of dignity!"

"People have reported you dumpster diving, loitering and being over-all incredibly disturbing or creepy."

Every crime and misdemeanor only caused Snatcher's twisted grin to grow, and Bow to grow more fearful. "That Bean is a bad Bean!" she insisted. "He's even worse than Conductor!"

Hat Kid shook her head. "B-But he's been nothing but nice to me! A little creepy is one thing, but he'd never, ever hurt me! Or you!"

"I don't trust him, Hat Kid. And neither should you."

Agent Mark continued; "We are going to have to keep a very, _very_ sharp eye on you, Mister Vincent."

"Do it!" Snatcher laughed. "I dare you! You won't find anything!"

The Agent shook his head as he went down the stairs. CC paused to glare at Snatcher before following. "So...how'd we do?"

Agent Mark frowned. "We'll have to keep a close eye on you and this house. Connor and Vincent aren't doing you favors." noticing CC's wince, he added, "But not to fear. You are viable to adopt the little girl that was recently placed in our care. You have a big heart, Miss Cookie."

She smiled, extending a hand for him to shake. "Thank you, Mark!"

He returned the smile, shaking her hand. "Now, the local papers want to write a story about all of this; a house of friends saving and adopting a young girl from abuse. Would that be fine?"

"Of course! Why not?"

* * *

A few days later, far away in a large house, a woman sat at the table as she sipped her tea. _"Give me the morning paper."_ she demanded, to no one in particular. One of her staff rushed forward to deliver what she requested.

She skimmed the first page, eyes narrowing as she read the cover. "Local Girl Saved from Abuse." As she read further and further, she started to smile.

" _I found you, my Prince~"_


	10. Reverse Borrower Bonus

**[Hey guys! It's been a while, huh! ; well I'm going to be completely honest, I've sorta run outta steam for this fic, so until further notice this is on Hiatus. But don't worry! I have tons of ideas and fics on the way! I have a tumblr where I post fics and doodles of alllll my AUs! It's teenytinyhatkid.** **I'll start posting more here! See you soon!]**

* * *

Hat Kid squished her face against the car window, watching the last bits of the city melt away into rolling countrysides and enormous oak trees. She had never seen Grampa Tim's house before! She only occasionally saw her grampa at holidays and family gatherings. Tim quickly became her favorite relative, offering her strange gadgets and gizmos to her as strange presents.

"Don't look too excited." She heard Timmy say. Peeking over his handheld game, he scowled. "This is gonna be the worst summer ever."

"Buck up, buddy!" Thor chimed from the front seat. "Tim isn't so bad. Plus, it'll be nice to get you kids out of that stuffy apartment for the summer, eh?"

"I don't like the outside." grumbling, Timmy returned to his game.

"I like the outside!" Hat Kid chirped, scooting the sleeping Bow onto Timmy's shoulder. "I like Grampa Tim!"

"See? I'm sure we'll all have lots of fun!"

Grampa Tim's house was a huge, old house nearly lost to the plant life surrounding it. Hat Kid was no expert in architecture, but she honestly felt like a strong breeze would knock the whole thing over. There was a large shed in the back that looked like it absolutely covered with rust.

"Hullo!" the front door opened, revealing the kooky old man himself, Tim. Hat Kid squealed in delight, rushing forward to give her grampa a big hug. Bow followed suit. "Hullo, girls!" Tim wheezed through the tight hugs. Looking up, he said, "Howdy, junior!"

Timmy waved. Clearly, he was not as excited as his sisters. "Hi Grampa Tim."

Tim smirked. "Whatsa matter junior? Too 'cool' for hugs?"

"He's goin through a phase, dad." Thor pats his young nephew's shoulder in a comforting gesture. "He's too 'cool' for this."

"Alrighty! Raincheck on the hug, junior." The old man waved them inside. "Come in, come in! I'll give you the tour!"

The kitchen was first, and it was strange. It was old; full of creaky wood and ancient types of appliances. But at the same time, it was filled with half-built inventions and pieces of metalwork. "If you guys ever want something sweet, I keep sugar cubes in that cupboard."

Hat Kid, always eager for sugar, immediately went to the cupboard in question. But she paused, curious and confused. She swore she saw something _moving_ in the cupboard. She snagged Timmy's arm. "Timmy? Do houses like this have...rats?" she whispered.

"Probably," he replied, shrugging his shoulders. "I thought you liked rats."

"Pet ones! Not the wild ones!"

Tim walked up behind them. "What's a' matter, gumdrop?"

She pointed to the cupboard. "I thought I saw a rat!"

Her grampa started to chuckle. "Ooh, deary. You didn't see a rat. We don't have rats here!" he pat her shoulder. "C'mon. I'll show ya."

Tim led his granddaughter to a small room, decorated for that of a young girl. "Your mother used to stay in this room," he added softly, directing Hat Kid to a massive dollhouse in the room.

"You see, gumdrop, your mother believed in _Borrowers_. " Tim opened up the dollhouse to show the inside; everything perfectly to scale and elegantly crafted. He leaned forward and turned on a tiny light.

"Borrowers?" Hat Kid asked with confusion.

"Borrowers are tiny people that live in the walls. 'Borrowing' sugar cubes and other tiny things we won't miss. Your mother begged me to make this house for them. But they never touched it."

There was a scoff from the doorway. Timmy frowned, walking inside and looking at the dollhouse. "Because they don't exist."

Hat Kid liked her brother, she really did. But the way he said that made something click. It made her _angry_. "They do exist!" she shouted at him, shoving him out of the room. "You're wrong!"

After shoving her angrily sputtering brother out of the room, she ran and hugged her Grampa. "I know they're real!" she insisted. "They gotta be!"

"Gumdrop, it's OK! They're just stories after all…"

* * *

All Snatcher wanted was a sugar cube. All he wanted was to eat. He was hungry, he rarely ate. His mother had warned him that 'a fat borrower was a caught borrower', so he made sure to keep his form as slim as he could.

But after three days of waving off CC's concerns for his eating habits, he couldn't take it anymore. He was practically starving and he couldn't _not_ eat anymore. So he snuck out during the day, using the complex pulley system to lift himself up to the cupboard.

What he was doing was risky, yes. But he had lived in this house for years. Snatcher knew the old human would never catch him. This was a cake walk! Just grab the sugar cube-

There were new Beans in the house. Snatcher barely had time to dart behind a cup by the time he noticed. Doing his best to steady his breathing and racing heartbeat, he waited until they left.

Once he was _absolutely certain_ that they were gone, Snatcher reached over to snatch a sugar cube and dart back home. This was bad, bad, _bad_. The new Beans seemed primarily children, and the children were the worst of them all.

As he used the pulley system to get down, and hungrily devoured the lump of sugar, Snatcher's mind was racing. What were they gonna do now? Would they have to leave?

Finally reaching their home, he threw the door open, then leaned against the closed door, still trying to catch his breath.

"Snatcher, sweetie?" CC sang from the kitchen. "Is that you, sugar?"

Slowly, he stepped into the kitchen, practically dropping a half-eaten sugar cube onto the counter. Turning to CC, who was currently stirring a pot of food, he muttered, "...I have some bad news."

The older woman frowned, setting her spoon down and turning to him. "What's a' matter, sweetie?"

"There's more Beans at the house."


End file.
